The US men’s hockey team have been criticized for attending the White House after winning the gold at the Olympics, but some of them missed the event.
The men’s team took the gold at the Winter Olympics, and President Donald Trump invited them to the State of the Union address.
While speaking to the team, Trump also made a widely criticized joke about the US women’s team, saying ‘I do believe I probably would be impeached’ if he didn’t invite them too, met with a roar of laughter from the men’s team.
Many saw the joke as highly disrespectful of the women’s team, and it was slammed as a ‘misogynistic disgusting a** joke’.
The women’s ice hockey team also romped home to victory and took the gold for Team USA in a stunning 2-1 win over Canada.
Not all the men on the men’s team went to the White House, and gave a variety of reasons.
The men’s team attended the state of the union address (Brendan SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
The players who did not attend include Kyle Connor, Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger, Avalanche forward Brock Nelson, Lightning winger Jake Guentzel, and Ducks defenseman Jackson LaCombe.
Reports have said that the players had to pass on the occasion, as many had more match commitments coming up.
Connor was training with the Jets on Tuesday for a match against the Canucks, while Oettinger was back in Dallas ahead of a match against the Kraken.
Guentzel, meanwhile, had returned to Tampa the same day, but didn’t attend practice as he was resting for another game.
Meanwhile, LaCombe was still travelling back to California.
One bizarre moment after the victory also saw FBI director Kash Patel celebrating in the men’s locker room after the win, including downing beers with the team.
Jack Hughes scored the winning goal for the men’s team and responded to the criticism by saying that ‘people are so negative out there’.
The women’s team romped to victory with a 2-1 win against Canada (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
He told The Daily Mail that he thinks ‘we are so tight with their group’, adding: “After we won the gold medal, we were in the cafeteria at 3.30 am in the morning with them, and we go from there, pack our bags and we’re on the bus.
“People are so negative about things. I think everyone in that locker room knows how much we support them, how proud we are of them and we know the same way we feel about them, they feel about us.”
When asked about whether they were excited for their trip to meet Trump, Hughes said they were ‘super excited to go to the White House tomorrow and be a part of that’.
Meanwhile, the women’s team rejected the president’s invitation, citing ‘timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments’.
Rapper Flavor Flav offered to help the women’s hockey team celebrate in style, calling on companies to help him fly them out to Las Vegas and put on a big party, and has since extended the invitation to all female medallists on Team USA, urging his followers: “Support women’s sports!”
Featured Image Credit: Elsa/Getty Images
