Team USA captain calls President Trump’s White House invite a ‘distasteful joke’

By Mia Fishman, CNN

(CNN) — United States Olympic women’s hockey team captain Hilary Knight called President Trump’s invitation to the White House “a distasteful joke” on Wednesday during an appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter.

The invite came after Trump extended a welcome to the men’s team via a phone call on Sunday, as celebration ensued in the locker room following their 2-1 gold medal overtime win against Canada.

“I must tell you, we’re gonna have to bring the women’s team — you do know that,” Trump said over a speakerphone held by FBI Director Kash Patel, who was videoed celebrating with the team.

Trump said that if the women’s team wasn’t invited, he “probably would be impeached.” His response was then echoed by laughter from those in the locker room.

The women’s team earned their third all-time Olympic gold medal after defeating Canada 2-1 in overtime at the Milan Cortina Winter Games on Thursday, with Knight scoring the late game-tying goal.

The women’s team declined their invitation to Trump’s State of the Union address due to prior academic and professional commitments.

In the ESPN interview, Knight, a five-time Olympic medalist, said the controversy surrounding Trump’s invite “is overshadowing a lot of the success, the success of just women at the Olympics carrying for Team USA and having amazing gold-medal feats.”

In Sunday’s viral locker room video, several members of the men’s team can be heard laughing at the suggestion that the President could be impeached for not inviting the gold-medal-winning women’s squad.

The exchange between the men’s players, Trump and Patel, drew significant backlash as the video circulated on social media.

“We should’ve reacted differently,” Team USA and Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman said on Wednesday. “We are so excited for the women’s team and we have so much respect for the women’s team – to share that gold medal with them is something that we will forever be grateful for.”

When asked about how the men’s players reacted to the women’s offer visit the White House this week, Knight described the laughter in the locker room as a “quick lapse” in judgment.

Despite the friction, Knight emphasized her pride in the men’s gold-medal victory, noting that both teams should be celebrating a historic week for American hockey rather than navigating political fallout.

“I think the guys were in a tough spot, so I think it’s a shame this storyline and narrative has kind of blown up and is overshadowing that connection and genuine interest in one another and cheering each other on,” Knight said.

Rapper Flavor Flav, who served as Team USA’s hypeman in Italy, extended his own invitation to the women’s team via social media on Monday, calling for “a real celebration” in Las Vegas.

Knight said she hoped to celebrate the accomplishments of the team in Las Vegas with the Public Enemy star but commitments for players in the PWHL and college teams were preventing an immediate party.

A contingent of the men’s team, who flew to Washington on a military plane, received six minutes of accolades from Trump during the State of the Union address Tuesday night.

“Our country is winning again. In fact, we’re winning so much that we really don’t know what to do about it,” Trump said. “To prove that point, to prove that perfect here with us tonight is a group of winners who just made the entire nation proud: the men’s gold medal Olympic hockey team.”

Trump ensured that the women’s team would “soon” be making a trip to Washington during his address to the nation, but Team USA has yet to confirm an upcoming visit.

Knight characterized the recent controversy as a “really good learning point, to really focus on how we talk about women, not only in sport but in the industry. Women aren’t less than and their achievements shouldn’t be overshadowed by anything else other than how great they are.”

With Knight’s last-gasp equalizer in the Olympic final in Milan, the veteran wrote herself into US hockey history, becoming the women’s all-time Olympic goals and points leader.

She is set to be back on the ice with her professional team, the PWHL’s Seattle Torrent, on Friday.

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