The United States men’s hockey team’s gold medal win at the 2026 Winter Olympics was expected to dominate headlines. After all, the last time the team won Olympic gold was back in 1980, a win now famously dubbed the “Miracle on Ice.”
The win was expected to unite the nation. A historic feat for the men representing the red, white and blue, however, since turned sour.
A slew of controversies have followed, from FBI director Kash Patel’s post-win locker room antics, to Donald Trump’s remark about the women’s team and their subsequent rejection of a White House invite.
However, the one that’s stood out the most was the men’s team presence at the annual State of The Union address. As is tradition, most major championship winning team’s are invited to the White House to be lauded for their efforts by the presiding president.
The trip soon became a topic of debate in the media and among fans. While Some questioned the optics, others defended the players’ decision to attend.
The discussion has since led to a strong response from NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley. Addressing the issue on his podcast, ‘Barkley’s Steam Room’, the former NBA star criticized fans and the media alike for turning the visit into a political argument.
“Why do y’all have to mess up everything?… That’s why we got this divided, screwed up country. Stop it, man. Because the public, they’re idiots, they’re fools. They can’t think for themselves. I know y’all say stuff to trigger them. Y’all say stuff and y’all know they’re going to be fools,” Barkley said.
Barkley went on to note that he does not support Trump, but that players should not have to face any such backlash for accepting an invite to the White House regardless of who the president is.
5 US men’s hockey players ended up skipping White House invite
While the majority of the gold-winning team was present for the White House invite, five notable players were missing when the players met Trump at the Oval office.
The players were Jake Oettinger, Kyle Connor, Jake Guentzel, Brock Nelson and Jackson LaCombe. The five had varying reasons for skipping the event.
While Nelson and Oettinger cited personal reasons, including returning to their families; Guentzel, Connor and LaCombe said they couldn’t attend as they had a quick turnaround before their NHL games started and thus needed to rest and recover during the brief break.
All five players, however, noted that it was an honor to receive the invite and that their absence had nothing to do with their political beliefs.
Edited by Shivayan Roy