Hilary Knight Addresses Team USA's Controversial Trump Call

The United States Men's and Women's Teams both captured gold medals at the 2026 Winter Olympics. It was the first time the country ever achieved the impressive feat, but for the players on both teams, it's become overshadowed by the controversial phone call between the Men's team and the President of the United States, Donald Trump.

Multiple players from the Men's team have responded since their gold medal victory in Milan. Meanwhile, the Women's Team has remained fairly quiet on the matter.

Now captain of the Women's Team and forward for the Seattle Torrent of the PWHL, Hilary Knight, spoke out on the matter. She addressed the phone call between Trump and the Men's Team in their locker room. Referring to the joke Trump made about having to invite the women to the White House, Knight referred to the comments as a "distasteful joke" that takes away from the achievements of her and her teammates.

"I thought it was sort of a distasteful joke," she said on SportsCenter. "And unfortunately that is overshadowing a lot of the success, the success of just women at the Olympics carrying for Team USA and having amazing gold medal feats."

Support From the Men's Team

As for the relationship between the Men's and Women's Teams, Knight maintains there are no hard feelings. She shared that the two squads had a strong relationship at the Olympic Village and that there was mutual support from both sides.

"I think there's a genuine level of support and respect. I think that's being overshadowed by a quick lapse," she said. "I think the guys were in a tough spot, so it's a shame that sort of this storyline and narrative has kind of blown up and overshadowing kind of that connection and genuine interest in one another and cheering one another on."

United States center Hilary Knigh — Feb 19, 2026; Milan, Italy; Hilary Knight (21) of the United States on the ice in the women's ice hockey gold medal game against Canada during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

A Learning Point

Knight's comments refocused the conversation for a bit. The heights that the United States reached should be the focal point of the post-Olympics discussion, and she wants her and women's achievements to stop being overshadowed.

"I think this is a really good learning point to really focus on how we talk about women," she said. "Not only in sport, but in industry, women aren't less than. And our achievements shouldn't be overshadowed by anything else other than how great they are."

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