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Players from the Olympic gold medal-winning men’s and women’s hockey teams appeared together on “Saturday Night Live” amid recent political controversy.
The men’s and women’s players were publicly pitted against each other after President Donald Trump called the men’s team after their gold medal win against Canada to invite them to the State of the Union, and joked that he would have to invite the women as well or he would be impeached. The joke sparked a backlash against the men’s team after players laughed in response, mainly from American and Canadian liberals.
Female players Hilary Knight and Megan Keller were joined by male players Jack and Quinn Hughes on SNL and shed light on the recent controversy.
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Knight appears to be referring to Trump’s joke.
“It was just going to be us, but we thought we’d invite the guys too,” Knight said.
Knight delivered another punchline after Quinn Hughes said the last time the men won gold was 46 years ago, at the 1980 Lake Placid Games.
Knight then said the women’s team last won gold two Olympics ago, at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Games.
Jack Hughes responded by saying: “Nice burn. These gold medals are not just for us, they are for all hockey fans.”
“Heated Rivalry” actor Connor Storrie hosted the episode.
Several major media outlets wrote opinion pieces condemning the men’s team for laughing at the joke and then going to the White House to celebrate and attend Trump’s State of the Union address.
During an interview Friday on ESPN’s “The Pat McAfee Show,” Hughes spoke about his respect for the women’s team after McAfee appeared to reference the controversy by joking that Hughes and his teammates “hated” the female players.
“We hang out with them so much, the women’s team. We supported them. We were at their games, they were at our games,” Hughes said.
Hughes then appeared to address recent criticism of his team for their response to Trump’s joke.
“Like all these people talking, how many of them watched their gold medal game? Quinn Hughes and I were at the game. We were there until overtime ended on the glass, and we were jumping up and down, so excited for these girls, so excited that they won,” Hughes said.
“And how many of those people watched the gold medal game, watched their semifinal game? Like, 10 of our 10 players went to their round robin game. We supported them so much and we’re so proud of them. We’re so happy that they won and that they brought home a gold medal and that, you know, I said it, the men’s and women’s teams both brought home gold medals. So, simply incredible for American hockey.”
Jack Hughes, who scored the game-winning goal in overtime against Canada to win gold, reflected on his interaction with the U.S. women’s team player who did the same to Keller.
“She and I had a great time in the cafeteria after her gold medal game. We played Slovakia the next night, and it was like a late game. And we were in the pasta line — me and Megan. They were just getting ready to go out, and I just gave her a huge hug, and I said, ‘I’m so happy for you. I’m so proud of you,'” Hughes said.
“A few nights later, I saw her again in the [cafeteria]and we took a great picture and, uh, she just gave me a big hug and she was so excited for me too.”
U.S. women’s hockey captain Hilary Knight said Wednesday on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” that Trump’s ‘nasty joke’ has “eclipsed[ed]”the success of women.
“I thought it was kind of a tasteless joke and unfortunately it overshadows a lot of the success, the success of women in the Olympics wearing for Team USA and winning incredible gold medals,” Knight said.
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“We’re just focused on celebrating the women in our gym, extraordinary efforts, and continuing to celebrate three gold medals in the history of the program as well as the men’s and women’s double gold at the same time. And let’s really not take that away with a bad joke.”
Ellen, Hughes’ mother, a former Team USA player and current player development team member, said the players only cared about “bringing[ing] so much unity for a group and for a country.
