The two Boston Bruins players who represented the United States at the 2026 Olympics have succumbed to media pressure.
Seemingly every player from Team USA’s gold medal-winning men’s hockey team is facing a struggle session from local reporters who are asking them why they laughed at a joke made by President Trump.
‘Certainly not reflective of how we feel and look at them and their accomplishments.’
When the president called the men’s locker room after they defeated Canada 2-1 on Sunday, he invited the team to the State of the Union as well as to the White House before making a wisecrack about also inviting the women’s gold medal team.
“We’re going to have to bring the women’s team,” the president joked, adding that he “probably would be impeached” if he didn’t.
Since then, the league-wide hunt for unauthorized laughter has commenced, and some players are starting to show cracks in their armor.
Bruins players were seemingly the first to show significant regret for laughing with the president, starting with goalie Jeremy Swayman. The Team USA backup goalie called it an “incredible honor” to attend the State of the Union but then told reporters that the team should have had a different reaction to the phone call.
“We should have reacted differently,” Swayman said from the locker room on Wednesday. “We know that we are so excited for the women’s team. We have so much respect for the women’s team, and to share that gold medal with them is something that we’re forever grateful for.”
The Alaskan added, “Now that we’re home, we get to share that together forever and see the incredible support that we have from the USA and sharing this incredible gold medal.”
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On Thursday, it was more of the same from Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy, a 28-year-old New Yorker who also suited up for the United States.
McAvoy said he was “certainly sorry for how we responded to it in that moment,” before qualifying that there were “things that just happened really quick there.”
The longtime Bruin told reporters that the relationship between the men’s and women’s teams is incredibly strong, and their reaction to the president’s joke was “certainly not reflective of how we feel and look at them and their accomplishments.”
On the subject of his visit to the White House, McAvoy revealed he had always told himself that such an opportunity was one he would never miss.
“Just the history of that building, the history of this country. You know, if I get a chance to go to … I was certainly going to go.”
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Trump’s remarks have caused a meltdown among sports reporters, who have incessantly sought comment from the male and female athletes in question.
In response, Team USA women’s captain Hilary Knight lectured her countrymen during interviews this week, describing the backlash as being a “teaching point.”
Knight also called the joke “distasteful and unfortunate,” before saying the male players had a “lapse” in judgment by laughing at Trump’s remarks.
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