Op-Ed: It Was a Miracle on Ice, But It Left 'a Sour Taste'

For Mary Clarke, watching the US men's hockey team win gold at the Olympics was "a dream come true." But what followed—from Kash Patel chugging beer in the locker room to players laughing as President Trump informed them he would have to also invite the women's team to the State of the Union address—"has been nothing short of a disappointment," the longtime hockey fan writes at USA Today's For the Win. She notes Trump's dig at the women, and the laughter from the men, is especially disappointing amid a record-breaking Olympic Games for the US in which eight of 12 gold medals were won by women.

Pointing to the NHL's right lean (44% of players are Republican, compared to 6% Democrats, according to VoteHub), Clarke suggests Trump's decision to celebrate male hockey players should come as no surprise. But she takes issue with his silence when Alysa Liu took home the women's individual gold medal in figure skating, the first for an American since 2002, and when bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor became the oldest Winter Olympian to win an individual gold at 41—not to mention the US women's own hockey victory.

As for the men's hockey team, "To laugh at a joke disparaging your United States teammates and peers who won the same accomplishments as you just a few days prior is incredibly disappointing behavior," Clarke writes, accusing the players of "going mask off after the doors close." With the sport at peak popularity owing to Heated Rivalry, a show that has brought more women and LGBTQ+ individuals to the ice, the team "failed to meet the moment and then some." Read the full piece, in which Clarke highlights wider issues in hockey culture and what the men's team did right before leaving "a sour taste."