After Olympic victory
US team rejects Donald Trump
02/24/2026 – 7:43 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
US President Donald Trump caused anger with a comment about the women’s national ice hockey team. The team now declines its invitation – one player goes even further.
The U.S. women’s national ice hockey team has declined an invitation from U.S. President Donald Trump to the White House and his address to the nation Tuesday night to celebrate winning the gold medal at the Olympics. The team cited “previously planned academic and professional commitments” as the reason. Only a short time later, the team accepted an invitation from rapper Flavor Flav to Las Vegas to celebrate their victory over Canada in the Olympic final.
The cancellation of the visit to the White House comes after Trump caused a stir with a controversial joke. The US President called the men’s national ice hockey team, which had won the Olympic final against Canada on Sunday, in the dressing room, congratulated them and extended an invitation to the White House. In a clip on social media, Trump can be heard telling the players that he probably has to invite the women’s team too, otherwise he would probably be removed from office. The players laughed at his joke.
Trump’s joke and the players’ reaction had caused anger. Lexi LaFleur Brown, wife of former hockey pro JT Brown and writer, wrote on social media: “You can make history, represent your country at the highest level, inspire a nation of girls to dream and they will still laugh in your face. Every woman knows that feeling and that’s why we won’t give up. Keep laughing as women’s hockey is one of the fastest growing sports in the world.”
Sports journalist Keith Olbermann called on the men to cancel their visit to the White House. “Everyone who shows up there confesses their indelible stupidity and misogyny,” he wrote at X.
