A double victory for Team USA highlights sexism within sports
The Women’s Ice Hockey finals in the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics saw Team USA and Team Canada face off for gold on Feb. 19, with Team USA taking home gold for the third time in the program’s history in a heated overtime bout. Three days following the women’s victory, the Men’s Ice Hockey finals saw a repeat of this feat. On Feb. 22, Team USA emerged triumphant over Team Canada in a shocking overtime victory, taking home gold for the first time since the team’s “Miracle on Ice” in Lake Placid, New York (1980), when the men’s U.S. team unexpectedly defeated the Soviet Union.
The momentous double victory for the U.S. would have been a thrilling accomplishment had the men’s team not found themself almost immediately struck by controversy. Since the Olympic debut of women’s hockey in 1998, Team USA and Team Canada have met in the gold medal game at each tournament. Team USA snagged the win in its debut year, followed by four consecutive victories for Team Canada. The title has passed back and forth between the two countries since PyeongChang in 2018, when Team USA finally shattered Team Canada’s winning streak. The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) mirrors this stiff competition. It was anyone’s game. The men’s team, however, only managed to snag a piece of the podium twice after their miracle in New York, meeting Team Canada in the gold medal game in Salt Lake City (2002) and Vancouver (2010), and losing on both occasions. The Canadians had it in the bag, which is why the U.S.’s victory was so shocking, the spirits so high, and the celebration so grand.
The players were joined in their locker room for a post-game celebration by FBI Director Kash Patel, whom U.S. President Donald Trump called to personally offer his congratulations to the team and invite them to the White House for the State of the Union address. In light of the U.S.’s current political climate, their enthusiastic reception of Patel and Trump did not sit well with fans. However, this was not even the most controversial aspect of the situation. The major issue with this interaction was the reception of a sexist joke floated by Trump. After relaying the invite to the men’s team, Trump added, “I must tell you, we’re gonna have to bring the women’s team, you know that right,” and joked he might be impeached if he did not extend the invitation, turning their success on the same global stage, against the same archrival, into a punchline, blatantly diminishing the significance of their accomplishment. While one player did not indulge Trump’s disrespectful sentiment and responded with an adamant and honest “absolutely,” it is easily missed over the uproar of laughter that erupted throughout the room.
The captain of Team USA’s women’s hockey team, Hillary Knight, characterized the incident as a “great teaching point” on how women in athletics are discussed and how their successes should be championed. “Women aren’t less than, and our achievements shouldn’t be overshadowed by anything else other than how great they are.” Knight focused on shifting the narrative back to their success, referring to the team as “the best American women’s hockey team, the best American team” ever put together on a world stage.
Knight also set to rest speculations of bad blood between the two teams by defending the men. Team USA men’s hockey player, Jack Hughes, was the first to respond to the backlash, characterizing it as an attempt to “make something out of almost nothing.” Hughes argued, “people are so negative out there, and they are trying to find a reason to put people down.” Hughes omitted any fault on his part. Instead, arguing “we are so tight with their group […] 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.” Knight confirmed this sentiment, saying, “the guys were in a tough spot” and “it’s a shame this [negative] storyline and narrative has kind of blown up and overshadowed that connection and genuine interest in one another and cheering each other on.” Knight later made light of the incident on Saturday Night Live (SNL), appearing alongside teammate Megan Keller to thunderous applause, the Hughes, and Heated Rivalry star Connor Storrie, joking “it was going to be just us, but we thought we’d invite the guys too.”
While I do not doubt the two teams share a close relationship, for Knight to publicly condone their behavior is unacceptable. For a prominent figure in women’s sports such as herself to argue a “genuine level” of support and respect has been “overshadowed by a quick lapse” perpetuates a culture of tolerance. It teaches young girls to accept sexism in sports, instead of standing up for themselves, and frees the boys of accountability by evoking the “boys will be boys” sentiment. What is worse is Knight was not the only prominent figure in women’s hockey to defend the men. Ellen Hughes, a player development consultant for the U.S. Women’s National Team and 2026 Olympic Women’s Hockey Team (and the Hughes brothers’ mother), responsible for mentoring national team players and coaching staff, also took this stance. Hughes stated, “if you could see what we see from the inside […] the camaraderie and the synergy and the way the women cheered on the men and the way the men cheered on the women […] both teams going undefeated, we couldn’t have written a better story.”
Well Ellen, I can, and it goes a little something like this: Team USA hockey wins gold in both the women’s and men’s division at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. While offering his congratulations to the men’s team, Trump makes a sexist joke that falls flat. End of story.