Brady Tkachuk was meant to be in the spotlight for helping Team USA win its first Olympics gold in men’s ice hockey in 46 years. However, things took a wrong turn after he started to be highlighted for his appearance in a video showing him making remarks about the Canadian opponents, which he now clarifies, were never said by him, but was AI-generated misinformation. 

Slamming the content of the video, Tkachuk has now responded, “I would never say that. That’s not who I am.”

“It’s clearly fake because it’s not my voice and not my lips moving. I’m not in control of any of those accounts.… I know that those words would never come out of my mouth,” Tkachuk added. 

But what was said in the video that the US Olympics star so strongly disagrees with?

The video was posted by White House’s official Tik Tok account, showing a press conference featuring Brady and his brother, Matthew Tkachuk. The footage was a modified clip of the brothers at last year’s 4-nation face-off in February 2025. The audio seemed fabricated and showed Brady saying abusive words to the Canadian opponents. 

“They booed our national anthem, so I had to come out and teach those maple syrup-eating f—— a lesson,” and added, “Canada, we own you little bro.”

As of Thursday afternoon, the video had 11.1 million views and more than 14,000 comments. And although the Tik Tok video did clarify that it contained “AI-generated content,” yet, it quickly went viral, and Tkachuk has had to face significant backlash. 

However, Tkachuk was quick to state that it’s not him. Well, there is another reason why he would want to disassociate himself with the video.

Him featuring to disrespect the countrymen, for whom he plays for the better part of the year, would clearly not be appreciated by him. Yes, that’s because Tkachuk plays in the Canadian capital, where he is captain of the Ottawa Senators.

Moreover, this is not where it ends. When U.S. President Donald Trump called the Olympics men’s ice hockey team after the victory, during the celebratory phone call, someone was heard saying, “Close the northern border.” This blame was also placed upon Tkachuk’s head, but he denied those accusations too.

“I’ve been seeing stuff that people think it’s me, but if you watch the video, that’s not my voice and something that I never say. I don’t really know how that kind of took a storm on its own when I play here and give everything I have here,” Tkachuk said.

Despite representing the Ottawa Senators his entire life, he took extreme pride in representing his country and winning a gold medal for them. Even though there were rumors that he would leave the capital state, he has cleared everything and will remain dedicated to the Senators. 

“First and foremost, I’ve given absolutely everything I have as an Ottawa Senator — blood, sweat and tears. When you represent the U.S., being an American, it’s an honor. There are only three teams that have won the gold medal for the U.S., so to be part of that is special,” Tkachuk added.

Unfortunately, these were not the only two controversies that occurred after the men’s victory. 

The Women’s Olympics Hockey Team declined the White House invitation

The United States women’s team also beat Canada 2-1 in overtime. This was the first time that the United States won both Olympic hockey tournaments during the same Winter Olympics.

During the same phone call from the president, Trump extended an invitation to the White House for the men’s team. While inviting the men’s team, he joked about the invitation for the women’s team, which was not appreciated by anyone. 

“We’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that.” He then joked that if he didn’t extend the invitation, he would probably be “impeached.”

There were even players who chuckled at the joke, which then raised questions about the camaraderie between the men’s and the women’s team. Brady Tkachuk admitted his mistake and later regretted it. He acknowledged the women’s team’s feelings about how they might have felt after the remark. 

“I mean, I get it. We supported them, they supported us. You can’t control what other people say.”

The White House did extend an invitation for the State of the Union to the women’s Olympics team, but they respectfully declined. The reason they gave was that many players were returning to their college teams and league teams, and could not change travel arrangements at short notice. Some members of the men’s team went on to visit Washington and attend the State of the Union.

With both teams back to their respective seasons, Brady Tkachuk’s message remains centered on the parting of ways between sport and digitally altered stories. This is the first time the USA has won gold in both categories, and he believes this historic achievement should not be overshadowed by AI-generated misinformation or any remark.