In a now viral clip, the United States men’s hockey team can be seen on the phone with President Donald Trump, who congratulated them on their gold medal win in an overtime thriller against Canada. Trump also invited the entire team to visit the White House and listen to his State of the Union address. To women’s dismay, the president took a backhanded jab at the women’s team.
“I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that,” Trump said.
Team USA women’s hockey also captured gold over Canada in overtime a few days prior. The same matchup. Two golden overtime goals. The same outcome: a 2-1 win for the United States.
The Whit denounces the behavior of both the president and the men’s hockey team. What should’ve just been a moment of pride turned into a cruel reminder of how sexist sports culture still is.
For this editorial, The Whit asked sports media students across Rowan for their reactions to this moment, both that work for us and for other media organizations on campus, including Rowan Television Network and Rowan Radio 89.7 WGLS-FM. There are also responses from sports media alumni and student athletes.
Sarah Shockey ’27, Sports Editor: Locker room culture being normalized doesn’t make it less toxic. What the men’s hockey team did wasn’t right, and women all over the United States have the right to be upset. Men will never understand how it feels to be the punchline of a sexist joke.
Many sports fans claim they don’t want politics in sports. But sports and politics have always been intertwined. Sports don’t exist in a vacuum — they reflect our culture, and culture is inherently political. Athletes mirror the societies that shape them, and for hockey players, that too often means one steeped in toxic masculinity.
Men in the sports communication and media major here at Rowan can fill a whole hour-long podcast dissecting meaningless games, yet several refuse to say two words in response to the blatant sexism that exists in their favorite place: sports.
There are no overreactions here. To anyone who thinks this isn’t worth a serious conversation, I have two words for you: grow up. There’s no world where sports and politics don’t mix. They’ve always coexisted, whether people choose to acknowledge it or not.
Katie Thorn ’27, Managing Editor, Sports Beat Writer: I wouldn’t say I’m super patriotic. I know the United States is a great place to live, and living here comes with so many freedoms and privileges, but I can also think of the many issues within our country. A new sense of pride flashed over me at these Olympics because of the talented athletes representing our country.
So when I turned on the television Thursday morning to watch the United States men’s hockey team compete in the gold medal game, I was feeling so much pride for the country. They won in overtime, did a beautiful tribute to the late Johnny Gaudreau, and it felt like the perfect ending to another great Olympic Games.
That changed when a video surfaced showing members of the men’s team laughing at a comment made by President Donald Trump. The comment openly belittled the women’s hockey team after they took home gold.
To say that I am disappointed is an understatement, and while I am disappointed, I’m sadly not shocked.
Throughout the speeches and the press conferences after the big gold medal game, the players kept saying something along the lines of “I am proud to represent America.”
Laughing at belittling jokes aimed at women completely undermines the idea of representing America’s core values of equality.
Something that is so beautiful about our country is that we are diverse. We’re not all just white men. Our country is made up of men and women of all different races, religions, sexual orientations, and backgrounds. You can’t claim to proudly represent your country while openly laughing at belittling comments targeted towards half the population.
Sadly, this one event encapsulates what it means to be a woman in today’s day and age. No matter how hard you work and how much time and effort you put into something, there will always be someone belittling you and making rude comments about you.
Representation isn’t just wearing a red, white, and blue jersey and winning a gold medal. Representation is encapsulating what your country stands for and honoring the diverse backgrounds that make it so special.
Aidan Dougherty ’25, Broadcaster: Watching the Olympics, I saw the USA women break records like Milano Cortina winning six gold medals herself. I saw Megan Keller score a game-winning goal in overtime to secure a gold medal. These types of moments and stories have been nothing but inspiring. The same way LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and so on inspire me and others. It just feels as a society we are always trying to downplay the success of female athletes. It doesn’t help when the face of a country and a lot of people’s idols in a sport continue the joke. Both USA teams made the same sacrifices, early practices and late nights, and faced the same pressure to perform at the highest level, but the same three letters across the chest don’t recognize your gender. When reaching the pinnacle of your sport with that achievement becoming a joke, it sends a message.
Julissa Sierra ’28, Copy Editor, Rowan Women’s XCTF student athlete: In the athletics world, it’s hard for men to see your achievements just because you are a woman. As we see in the Winter Olympics, men treat women differently in their sport just because they are women. It’s to the point where women are being laughed at by the men’s hockey team because the president is obligated to invite them to the White House. Meanwhile, the women’s team has also won gold this year at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Instead of congratulating them, women are being joked about. On social media, there are mixed opinions about whether it isn’t that deep or people shouldn’t be worried about this. But it is that deep. We are supposed to be an equal country; however, we are just repeating history. As a female athlete, I can see this sexism in the collegiate world as well. This isn’t a problem at Rowan, and my male teammates always support and cheer on everyone. In a broader sense, there is clearly favoritism.
In relation to funding, there is a clear difference in who is worth more. I have been in this athletic world for almost my entire life, and seeing how women are still not getting the recognition they deserve is truly heartbreaking. Imagine just winning gold at the Olympics, and the president of the United States invites you to the White House out of spite. It’s ridiculous. We need to do better and support each other as a team. Women are constantly fighting for what’s right. When does it ever stop?
Mattie Mac Kay ’28, Arts & Entertainment Editor: As someone who grew up really only watching women’s sports and having an older sister who works in the industry as a beat reporter, I was appalled and saddened by what the Team USA men’s hockey team did. Something like this goes beyond the locker room and sets up a society where women trailblazers are not protected, let alone respected.
These men are supposed to be role models to the men of the future, and if these are the men that young boys are looking up to, nothing will ever change.
This goes beyond the Olympics, though. As a lifelong WNBA and women’s basketball fan, I have seen firsthand the absolutely disgusting and weird rhetoric placed upon women by men on players like Angel Reese, Breanna Stewart, and many, many others.
This is bigger than one moment. It’s about accountability, leadership, and the example being set by the people in power. All that we can do at this very moment is focus on the amazing women who represented our country in the best way possible. Alysa Liu, Laila Edwards, Hilary Knight, and all of the strong and powerful women who don’t give up their sportsmanship or dignity for a five-minute conversation with the president. I am proud to be the brother and best friend of these absolutely amazing women in sports here at Rowan.
Jacob Michaud ’27, Broadcaster: It was disappointing to hear that the men’s team laughed at the women for getting the invite, despite the fact that they both achieved the same remarkable accomplishment. However, what makes this truly disappointing is that this will be nowhere near the first nor the last time we see women in sports being knocked down and viewed as less than.
Unfortunately, this type of situation seems to be just “par for the course.” Both the men and the women won the same medal on the same stage for the same sport, yet the accomplishment of the women is somehow laughed at. These kinds of “jokes” seem to only target women, to the point where it appears to be “socially accepted” and “understood.”
I highly doubt the women find these “jokes” funny, especially considering it’s always been an uphill battle for female athletes all throughout history, continuing into today. These women put their blood, sweat, and tears into their sport, and often accomplish such amazing feats, yet they hardly ever receive enough respect for it, and it’s becoming hard to believe that they ever will.
Antonette Dietz ’28, Photographer: What we saw the USA men’s hockey team do was a disgusting act of misogyny. It was also possibly the least surprising thing to come out of the Olympics. Although the women who performed in this year’s winter Olympics severely outplayed the men, President Donald Trump still thought it was comedic to invite the women’s team and that he would have to, so he wouldn’t be impeached. What a deplorable thing for not only a person to say, but for a president to say about a group of athletes who have just won gold for the country he leads.
What occurred in that locker room is the reality of hockey culture. The toxic masculinity spans beyond just America, but unfortunately, the president being so openly misogynistic does not help. Something needs to change; the NHL has never been a safe space for women. They are climbing the ladder and gaining even more fans, but they tumble down because men simply cannot help themselves but to act like privileged jerks. Something needs to change.
Melanie Barahona ’28, Photographer: Even if the laughter wasn’t intended to be harmful, representation matters. Women in sports have already gone through so much trying to prove to their male counterparts that they can be just as successful as men. As an aspiring woman in sports, it was very disheartening and disappointing to see the men’s USA hockey team laugh about the women’s team being invited to President Trump’s State of the Union address. Actions like this create patterns of women constantly being looked down upon. Women can do anything a man can do. Get used to it.
Riley Adams ’26, Staff Writer: It was very disappointing to see. After seeing how dominant the women’s team was against Canada in the gold medal game, I think they deserved all the respect and more from the men’s team. This should’ve been something that was celebrated among Team USA Hockey together, but the leaked video almost takes away from the moment.
The women’s team declining their visit to the White House meant a lot to fellow female athletes around the country. It’s nice to see them not follow the agenda and not go where they aren’t respected. The men’s team’s reaction to President Trump’s misogynistic joke proved that the “boys’ only club” mindset is still alive and well. It’s unfortunate that in 2026, women are still not valued at the same standard as men when they are competing in the same sport, for the same reason.
As an aspiring woman in sports, it makes me angry to see that we (and female athletes) still need to battle for the spotlight when our talent isn’t enough. It’s sickening that we’re taking steps back and that our achievements are being overshadowed by men acting immaturely. The women’s hockey team should be celebrated, even the men’s hockey team. Unfortunately, the men’s hockey team ruined part of the Olympic achievements for Team USA, and women all over are paying the price for it.
Seth Fassano ‘26, Broadcaster: My genuine thoughts are that the whole situation is strange and disappointing. We had Kash Patel celebrating a victory with a sports team, which was weird. We heard the President of the United States, who made demeaning remarks about a dominant women’s sports team, which was disrespectful. I hate to see the male hockey team laughing at that.
I don’t blame them nearly as much as I do President Trump and Kash Patel for interjecting themselves into what will go down as American history. Their influence and appearance, I believe, caused this to happen, and quite frankly, it was pointless. The laughter, however, sends a message. Either way, the women’s team was disrespected, and it’s sad to see, because those ladies deserve to be celebrated for what they did. They deserve respect.
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