Women's hockey star Hilary Knight calls men's hockey team's viral phone call 'distasteful'
U.S. women's hockey star and Olympic gold medalist Hilary Knight is speaking out following President Donald Trump's now-viral phone call to the U.S. men's hockey team following their gold medal win at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics.
"I thought the call in itself was distasteful and an awesome learning moment to refocus the narrative and understand our words matter, and how we speak about women matters, and we need to celebrate this team," Knight said on "Good Morning America" Thursday morning.
In a postgame call with the men's hockey team on Feb. 22, Trump invited the team to his State of the Union address in Washington, D.C., and said he would "have to" invite the Olympic gold medal-winning women's team as well.
"I must tell you, we're gonna have to bring the women's team. You do know that," Trump said, prompting laughter from the men's team. "I do believe I probably would be impeached."
The president's comment to the men's hockey team and the players' subsequent reactions were quickly called out by fans of the women's hockey team, who beat the Canadian women's hockey team in the Olympic gold medal game at Santagiulia Arena in Milan on Feb. 19.
Knight scored the goal that tied the game at 1-1, sending it to overtime, where defender Megan Keller scored the game-winning goal for the U.S. The win earned the team its third Olympic gold medal and eighth overall Olympic medal, according to USA Hockey.
A USA Hockey spokesperson later declined the invitation for the women's team to attend Tuesday's State of the Union, citing logistics.
"We are sincerely grateful for the invitation extended to our gold medal–winning U.S. Women's Hockey Team and deeply appreciate the recognition of their extraordinary achievement," USA Hockey said in a Feb. 23 statement. "Due to the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments following the Games, the athletes are unable to participate. They were honored to be included and are grateful for the acknowledgment."
Members of the men's hockey team visited President Trump and the White House and attended the State of the Union on Tuesday, where they were met with applause.
While recognizing the men's team members in attendance at his speech, Trump said the women's hockey team would also be visiting the White House, saying, "But they beat a fantastic Canadian team in overtime, as everybody saw, as did the American women who will soon be coming to the White House."
Knight told "GMA" on Thursday that she wasn't sure whether the women's hockey team would be visiting the White House.
"I'm not sure. I'm not really sure where that stands," Knight said, adding, "I know there was some sort of announcement the other day. As far as my knowledge, like, I haven't seen anything."
Reached for comment about Knight's remarks, the White House said it looked forward to hosting the U.S. women's hockey team following their victory and celebration.
Knight also reflected Thursday on the women's team's victory against rival Canada last week, calling the moment "pure joy" and "pure excitement" and crediting the team for their collective efforts.
"It was just incredible ... pure joy. That team is so special, one of the best teams I've ever been a part of, and really encouraged that we get to celebrate our journey forever and cement that legacy together," she said.
Now that Knight has wrapped her fifth and final Olympics, she said she hopes to be remembered for her fierce competition and as a champion of women's hockey and women's sports.
"Honestly, [I just want to be] remembered as an awesome competitor and a great teammate and somebody who moved the needle in the sport and pushed it forward," Knight said. "I think what's special and what's sort of an innate responsibility of representing Team USA is you can have a positive impact through sport. … We are America's team, and so, every stride of every single shift, we need to bring that inspiration. And I think we did that."
Editor's note: This article has been updated to include comment from the White House.
