US Women's Hockey Star Claps Back at Trump's 'Distasteful Joke'

Hilary Knight, the captain of the US women's ice hockey team, has responded to comments made by Donald Trump after the Americans won gold at the Winter Olympics, calling the president's quip a "distasteful joke".

After the US men's ice hockey team won gold on Sunday, Trump called into the locker-room celebration and invited the players to be his guests at Tuesday's State of the Union address. However, he failed to extend the same invitation to the victorious women's team.

In the aftermath of the historic win, Trump quipped about potentially inviting the US women's team to the White House, a comment that Knight has now addressed.

"I think it was a distasteful joke, to be honest," Knight said. "I think there is a lot of mutual respect between the men's and women's teams, and I think that's really important."

The US women's hockey team made history at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, capturing the gold medal with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Canada. It was the team's first Olympic gold since 2018.

"We're just focusing on our accomplishments and the work that we've put in," Knight said. "At the end of the day, we're proud of what we've achieved, and we're not going to let any outside noise or distractions take away from that."

The controversy over Trump's comments has threatened to overshadow the women's team's impressive achievement, which Knight acknowledged is unfortunate.

"It's a shame that this has become the focal point, because I think the story should really be about our team's success and the hard work that we've put in," she said. "But we're not going to let this distract us from celebrating our victory."

Despite the president's perceived snub, Knight said there is a strong sense of camaraderie and mutual respect between the men's and women's national ice hockey teams.

"At the end of the day, we're all part of Team USA, and we support each other," she said. "The men's team has been incredibly supportive of us, and we've been supportive of them. That's what's most important."