The USA men’s hockey team received plenty of admiration following their gold medal win over Team Canada at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics on Sunday.
But the team also received some backlash online when a video was posted on social media moments after their win over Canada showing them gathered in a circle talking to President Donald Trump on the phone.
In that video, several of the players laughed when it was mentioned the USA women’s hockey team, which also beat Canada in its gold medal game, also being invited to the White House.
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Some players have since publicly apologized for the viral moment, while others have remained silent.
One player who was forced to address the moment was USA forward and Ottawa Senators star Brady Tkachuk, who had a pretty intense and awkward moment with a Canadian reporter on Thursday.
“Do you understand why they could feel pretty let down by that moment?” the reporter asked.
“I mean, yeah, I get it,” Tkachuk replied. “Of course, I have no real comments other than for the things that we can control — and that was, we support them, they supported us. Can’t control what other people say. That’s just kind of life itself, but for us, I thought it was fun being around them, it was fun to see them play, it was fun to see the excellence they brought every single game and how they’re by far the best team in that tournament.”
“So, then why would you laugh when they got invited?” the reporter pressed.
“I mean, I don’t really have an answer,” Tkachuk responded. “Honestly, it was just a whirlwind of a moment that you can’t really control what somebody says, and it just, I guess, caught [us] off guard a little bit. You’re talking to the president 10 minutes after you just achieved your dream, it’s just the fact that you’re talking to him, you can’t really believe you’re talking to the President of the United States after you just won a gold medal.”
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The video of the interaction garnered hundreds of thousands of views, and fans were quick to hit the comment section to call out the reporter for putting Tkachuk on the spot and letting her emotion seemingly dictate her line of questioning.
“This man won a 🪙 MEDAL and beat our best 🇨🇦Olympic hockey team in years/decades. He doesn’t have to apologize for anything,” one fan stated.
“Why do journalists have an issue with locker room talk?” another scoffed.
“Why are the media putting all their energy on the men’s hockey team rather than highlighting the women’s hockey team’s accomplishment?” a third fan questioned.
“The Canadian media has no shame,” one user posted.
“How about asking him question about hockey instead! Sorry excuse for a reporter…,” remarked another user.
“Brady the Islanders media and fans would never treat you like this come to the island!” another fan quipped.
