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Photo taken from the New York Times.

Heated rivalries have captured sports fans, especially involving hockey. However, the latest debate surrounding the Team USA Olympic hockey teams is not about competition on the ice. After both the men’s and women’s teams secured gold medals for Team USA, a postgame phone call from Donald Trump shifted the focus from celebration to controversy.

The men’s team succeeded in receiving the gold medal when center player Jack Hughes scored the winning goal in overtime against Canada. This marked the first time the male Olympic team has won a gold since the ’80s. Hughes was praised by sports networks for securing the gold medal for his team following the victory.

The women’s hockey team also won big at the Olympics, bringing home gold, proving their successful program and adding to their record of three gold medals, four silver medals and one bronze medal.

That praise and celebration for the men’s team took a turn for the worse the following Sunday, when a video of a phone call surfaced.

The video shows the team fresh off their victory in the locker room, ears turned to the phone held by FBI Director Kash Patel, with Trump on speakerphone. Trump goes on to invite the men’s hockey team to the State of the Union address that was going to be held later in the week. This is also when President Trump makes an offensive remark, sparking heated debates.

“I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that,” Trump says when inviting the team.

He then goes on to say that if he did not invite the women’s team, “I do believe I would probably be impeached.” Several players, including Hughes, were heard laughing at the comment.

The clip quickly circulated online and drew criticism from viewers who viewed the comment as misogynistic and framed the women’s team as an obligation rather than equals who had also earned gold medals for the U.S.

The women’s team declined the invitation due to prior obligations.

Team captain Hillary Knight later addressed the remarks made in an interview, stating:

“We’re just focusing on celebrating the women in our room, the extraordinary efforts, and continue to celebrate three gold medals in program history as well as the double gold for both men’s and women’s at the same time, and not detract from that with a distasteful joke.”

What should have been a celebratory moment for a double gold win for U.S. hockey ended in the women’s team’s success being downplayed. This controversy served as another reminder of how female athletes who play in male-dominated sports, such as hockey, are treated as an afterthought, despite performing just as well — sometimes even better.

What makes this situation that much more upsetting is that the Professional Women’s Hockey League was just reformed in August 2023 after its failure to be financially stable. The league’s goal is to unify women’s hockey and empower them, yet incidents like this one show how female athletes are minimized despite several accomplishments.

While the controversy stole the spotlight away for a moment, it did not diminish its value. The double gold victory reinforced what the league and female athletes have been working toward for decades: recognition as equals in sports.

Later, when both teams starred on Saturday Night Live along with host Connor Storrie, the narrative shifted back to celebration. Both teams stand side by side, enjoying their victory and being recognized for their hard work and accomplishments. In the end, the supposed “rivalry” ended how it was supposed to be: a shared victory deserving of equal representation.