feature-image

Imago

feature-image

Imago

The U.S women’s Olympic NHL team is still making headlines days after the Winter Games. Fresh off their Olympic gold medal win, the team declined President Donald Trump’s invitation to the State of the Union, citing “scheduled academic and professional commitments.” But just a few days later, two players of the team, Hilary Knight and Megan Keller, have now turned heads with their statement on national TV.

Terrell Owens holding Dude Wipes XL

On March 1, U.S. women’s hockey stars Hilary Knight and Megan Keller made a surprise entry during host Connor Storrie’s opening monologue on Saturday Night Live. While celebrating their victory, Knight and Keller seemed to have taken subtle jabs at the President.

Watch What’s Trending Now!

They joined Jack and Quinn Hughes of the men’s Olympic hockey team, who were already on stage, joking with Storrie about hockey and the show.

ADVERTISEMENT

Once all 4 NHL players were together, they traded a few jokes.

Jack laughed, “We’ve been so busy playing, we haven’t had time to see your show yet,” while Quinn added, “It’s about hockey, right?”

ADVERTISEMENT

But then, Hilary Knight began with, “It was going to be just us, but we thought we’d invite the guys, too.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Keller added that they were hoping to give the men a “little moment to shine.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Their lines were a clear nod to the earlier week’s controversy, when Donald Trump made a joking remark about the women’s team, one that many felt had overshadowed their Olympic achievement.

So what exactly did Trump say?

ADVERTISEMENT

Donald Trump’s locker room joke sparks backlash

After both the men’s and women’s hockey teams won gold at the Milan‑Cortina Olympics, Donald Trump made a congratulatory call to the men’s team. He invited them to the State of the Union and joked about the women’s team.

“I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that,” while mentioning that if he didn’t, “I do believe I probably would be impeached.”

ADVERTISEMENT

The remark was then met with laughter among the men’s team, and the place where the call was recorded became viral. While the U.S. women’s team was invited to the State of the Union, they refused, citing scheduling reasons and the time right after the Olympics.

The joke caused some backlash online and in the media.

Hilary Knight called the comment “distasteful and unfortunate,” saying it overshadowed the team’s Olympic success.

ADVERTISEMENT

She pointed out that she is not focusing on the controversy but rather her interest is in the historic performance of the team, and that the incident is an indication that people are still discussing the treatment and recognition of female sports.

At the State of the Union itself, Donald Trump later said the women’s team would visit the White House “soon,” even though they did not attend the speech.

Share this with a friend:

Link Copied!

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Written by

author-image

Maleeha Shakeel

3,396 Articles

Maleeha Shakeel is a Senior Olympic Sports Writer at EssentiallySports, known for covering some of the biggest moments in global sport. From the World Athletics Championships 2023 to the Paris Olympics 2024 and the Winter Cup 2025, she has reported live on events that define sporting history. Her coverage has also been Know more

Edited by

editor-image

Ahana Chatterjee

ADVERTISEMENT