The U.S. women’s hockey team was invited to attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address but declined the invitation on Monday.
A USA Hockey spokesperson said in a statement that the team appreciates the invitation but has “previously scheduled academic and professional commitments,” NBC News reported.
“We sincerely appreciate the invitation extended to our gold medal-winning U.S. Women’s Hockey Team and deeply appreciate the recognition of their extraordinary achievements,” a USA Hockey spokesperson said. “Due to post-Olympic schedules and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments, the athletes were unable to participate.”
The spokesman added: “They are honored to be involved and would like to thank everyone for the recognition.”
Trump faced some criticism on Sunday after a video surfaced of him congratulating the men’s hockey team on winning a gold medal at the 2026 Olympics. At the end of the call, Trump laughed and told the players, “We’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you know. I do believe I could be impeached.” The words elicited laughter from players in the locker room.
advertise
FBI Director Kash Patel also faced criticism for flying to Italy and celebrating with the men’s hockey team. He was the first person to call Trump after Team USA won.
Although Trump scoffed at the suggestion during the call, the invitation was eventually extended to the women’s team. The women’s team chose to refuse.
On Saturday, the women’s team defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime to capture the gold medal. The women’s team trailed late in the game until Hilary Knight deflected the puck into the goal with about two minutes left. Megan Keller made a great play on the defense and scored the winning goal in overtime to give the U.S. the win. It ended up being the most-watched women’s hockey game ever.
advertise
A day later, the men’s team defeated Canada 2-1 in overtime in strikingly similar fashion. With the game tied at 1-1, Jack Hughes scored in overtime to help the men’s team win the gold medal. This is the first time a men’s ice hockey team has won a gold medal at the Olympics since the “Miracle on Ice.”