Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk pushed back on criticism surrounding a viral moment involving Team USA and President Donald Trump, saying the players were caught up in the emotion of winning Olympic gold.
According to Fox News, the controversy stems from a phone call Trump held with the men’s and women’s U.S. hockey teams after both defeated Canada in Milan.Â
During the call, Trump joked he would “have” to invite the women’s team to the State of the Union or he would “probably be impeached,” a remark that drew laughter from some of the men’s players.
Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman later said the team “should have reacted differently,” but Tkachuk declined to second-guess the moment.
“Yeah, I get it,” Tkachuk said when asked if he understood the women’s team’s displeasure. “I have no other comments other than for the things we can control. We supported them. They supported us. Can’t control what other people say.”
He emphasized the bond between the two squads during the Olympics.
“It was fun seeing them play, fun to see the excellence they brought every single game and how they’re, by far, the best team in that tournament,” he said. “It was just fun seeing them after picking their brains. They were picking our brains, and it was just fun being around them.”
Pressed again about laughing at Trump’s joke, Tkachuk pointed to the surreal nature of the moment.
“It was a whirlwind of a moment. You can’t really control what somebody says, and I guess it caught [us] off guard a little bit,” he said. “I mean, when you’re talking to the president 10 minutes after you just achieved your dream, it’s just the fact that you’re talking to him,”
“You can’t really believe where your life is at where you’re talking to the president of the United States after you just won a gold medal.”
Tkachuk and several teammates attended Trump’s State of the Union address, where the chamber gave the men’s team a standing ovation as they displayed their gold medals.
The women’s team did not attend, citing “previously scheduled academic and professional commitments.” USA Hockey said any White House visit would depend on players’ schedules once their seasons end.
Off the ice, those close to the program downplayed the controversy.
Ellen Hughes, a player development staff member with the women’s team and mother of Jack and Quinn Hughes, said the focus inside the program remains on unity.
“These players, both the men and women, can bring so much unity to a group and to a country,” she said. “People that cheered on that don’t watch hockey, people that have politics on one side or on the other side, and that’s all both the men’s team and the women’s team care about.”
“If you could see what we see from the inside, and the men and women sharing, you know, dorm rooms and halls and flex floors and the camaraderie and the synergy and the way the women cheered on the men and the way the men cheered on the women — that’s what it’s all about,” she added.
“And the other things they cannot control. They care about humanity. They care about unity, and they care about the country.”
