Hilary Knight criticizes Donald Trump over “distasteful joke” after Olympic gold win as team declines White House invitation
Hilary Knight, captain of the U.S. women's Olympic gold medal-winning ice hockey team, criticized President Donald Trump's joke about inviting her team to the State of the Union, stating it overshadowed their significant achievements. The team declined the White House invitation due to scheduling conflicts, with Knight emphasizing their focus on celebrating their historic success rather than a "distasteful joke."
Knight expressed her disappointment with the President's comments following the U.S. men's team victory. After the men's win against Canada, they received a call from President Trump in their locker room. During this call, Trump extended an invitation to both the men's and women's teams for the State of the Union address and a White House visit.
"I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that?" Trump said.
The President then made a remark suggesting that not inviting the women's team could lead to his impeachment.
Knight shared her reaction to these comments in an interview. She felt the joke was inappropriate and detracted from the accomplishments of the women's team.
"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 Team USA and having amazing gold medal feats," Knight said on ESPN.
The White House did not immediately provide a comment when asked about the situation.
The U.S. women's hockey team formally declined the invitation to attend the State of the Union. Their statement conveyed gratitude for the recognition of their Olympic gold medal win. However, they cited the timing of the invitation and pre-existing commitments as reasons for their inability to attend.
Knight reiterated her team's priority to celebrate their own achievements. She highlighted the collective effort and success of the women on the team.
"We're just focusing on celebrating the women in our room, the extraordinary efforts, and continuing to celebrate three gold medals in program history as well as the double gold for both men's and women's at the same time," she said. "And really not detract from that with a distasteful joke."
The article also detailed the pivotal moment in the women's gold medal game. Knight scored the game-tying goal late in the third period, deflecting a shot from Laila Edwards past the Canadian goalie. This goal forced overtime, where Megan Keller ultimately secured the Olympic gold medal for Team USA.
This goal marked a significant personal milestone for Hilary Knight. It was her 15th career Olympic goal and her 33rd career Games point. These statistics allowed her to break the existing U.S. Olympic women's hockey records for both all-time goals and all-time points.