NHL star Charlie McAvoy regrets the way he and his Olympic teammates reacted to President Donald Trump’s locker-room joke about the US women’s team in the wake of Sunday’s gold medal victory over rival Canada.
‘Certainly sorry for how we responded to it in that moment,’ the Bruins defenseman told assembled media in Boston on Thursday after returning from Team USA’s gold-medal celebration in Washington. ‘You know, things just happened really quick there.’
Days after the US women beat their Canadian rivals in overtime to secure Olympic gold in Milan, the American men followed suit on Sunday, leading to a locker room call from the President and an invitation to the White House.
‘I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that,’ Trump cautioned the US men before adding: ‘I do believe I probably would be impeached.’
Viral video from the moment quickly surfaced showing the American men laughing at Trump’s joke, which McAvoy now sees as a mistake.
From his perspective, the reaction he and his teammates gave to Trump’s joke was at odds with the years of support they’ve given to women’s hockey.
Charlie McAvoy is seen entering the House Chamber ahead of Trump’s speech on Tuesday
Hampus Lindholm, Jeremy Swayman and Charlie McAvoy of the Boston Bruins watch an Olympics video tribute during a time out against the Columbus Blue Jackets
Trump made his joke on a speaker phone on the Team USA locker room after Sunday’s win
‘If you know the men’s team, and if you know the relationships that we have, the amount of time that we’ve spent with the women’s team and how we’ve supported them, it’s certainly not reflective of how we feel and look at them and their accomplishments,’ said McAvoy.
Bruins and Team USA goaltender Jeremy Swayman shared a similar sentiment with reporters a day earlier.
‘We should’ve reacted differently,’ Swayman told reporters in Boston 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.
‘You know, 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,’ he added.
President Donald Trump’s joke about inviting the Olympic women’s hockey team to the White House against his will was ‘distasteful,’ captain Hilary Knight (pictured) said Wednesday
Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman admitted the men’s players should have reacted differently
Team USA and New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes dismissed the controversy Monday, insisting the men’s and women’s players are ‘tight.’
Women’s team captain and two-time gold medalist Hilary Knight agreed with that assessment when speaking with reporters Wednesday.
‘I think there’s a genuine level of support there and respect,’ Knight said. ‘I think that’s being overshadowed by a quick lapse. I think the guys were in a tough spot, so I think it’s a shame this storyline and narrative has kind of blown up and overshadowing that connection and genuine interest in one another and cheering each other on.’
Knight, whose late equalizer against Canada allowed for Team USA’s dramatic overtime, described Trump’s joke as ‘distasteful and unfortunate.’
McAvoy was among the 20 members of the men’s team to visit with Trump at the White House and attend the President’s State of the Union Speech on Tuesday night in Washington.
He and his teammates spent the previous night partying in Miami, where their departing flight from Milan was diverted by last weekend’s blizzard along the Atlantic Coast.
Trump’s White House also invited the women’s team to Washington, but the squad declined, citing scheduling conflicts.
