Hilary Knight, the captain of the United States women's ice hockey team, has criticised Donald Trump for making what she described as a “distasteful joke” about the team following their Olympic gold medal victory.
Trump called into the men's team's locker-room celebration after they won gold on Sunday and said: “I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team. You do know that. I do believe I probably would be impeached [if the women’s team wasn’t invited].” Several men's players were seen laughing in a video that went viral.
Speaking on SportsCenter, Knight said: “I thought it was sort of a distasteful joke and unfortunately that 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.” She added that the team was focused on celebrating their achievements, not the controversy.
Knight's comments were echoed by team-mate Kelly Pannek, who said the phone call was “not surprising”. Men's goaltender Jeremy Swayman later admitted the players “should’ve reacted differently”, expressing respect for the women’s team.
The women's team declined an invitation to the White House, citing scheduling conflicts, though Trump said during his State of the Union address that they would visit “soon”. USA Hockey has not confirmed any plans.
Knight, 36, who has the most Olympic goals and points of any American hockey player, said the incident was “a really good learning point to focus on how we talk about women, not only in sport but in industry”.
