The Winter Olympics is a highly publicized event with the best of the best Olympic athletes competing for the gold. During the summer olympics the first sport that comes to mind is Women’s or Men’s gymnastics or Woman’s and Men’s swimming, but during the winter games the most popular sports are Women’s and Men’s ice skating, skiing, and of course hockey. This year was especially rewarding to the United States because both of our teams won gold. The Women’s Team competed on February 19th against their biggest rival, Canada. The woman won the thrilling game 2-1 with an overtime goal by Megan Keller. This is the Women’s 3rd gold medal in less than 30 years, as they defeated Canada both times in the past with very close scores. 

Unfortunately the reason the Women’s and Men’s hockey team became trending on X and other news outlets was the comment that President Trump made after the men won against Canada in the final game. Trump said over the phone how he was also obligated to invite the Women’s National Team to the White House for their win against Canada or risk being impeached. This comment created a spiral that left many Americans, especially female athletes discouraged. The woman’s captain, Hilary Knight, called the comment “distasteful and unfortunate”. Knight expressed that this joke overshadowed the hard work and success that the Women’s team had to carry the US to as many gold medals they had. The women’s team ultimately declined the offer from the White House, not disclosing why they declined though. 

This comment by the president sparked outrage across the nation, especially with professional athletes. Why did President Trump feel the need to make a snide comment about women in sports when they barely get resignation as it is? The WNBA’s star players are paid a fraction of what regular NBA stars make. Along with the WNBA, the NWHL where these olympic athletes normally play for are barely funded. The unnecessary sexism in women’s sports is not only not going away, but I’d argue it’s only growing.