Propaganda on the Ice
The privilege of getting to exist as a “not political” athelete.
“The joke was distasteful & unfortunate— Now I have to sit in front of you and explain someone else’s behavior. It’s not my responsibility… ” -Hilary Knight, Team Captain for the US women’s hockey team.
“We’re excited. Everything is so political. We’re athletes. We’re so proud to represent the US, and when you get the chance to go to White House and meet the president. We’re proud to be Americans and that’s so patriotic. No matter what your views are, we’re super excited to go to the White House tomorrow and be a part of that.” -Jack Hughes, player for the U.S. men’s hockey team.
Well, I guess I published my newsletter about sports and the Olympics too soon because thanks to Donald Trump, Kash Patel, and the U.S. men’s hockey team, we have to talk about it again.
This week, the men’s hockey team visited the White House as special guests of President Trump and accompanied him to the State of the Union Address as well. Trump issued the invitation immediately after their gold medal victory, while on the phone with the team. Via FBI Director Kash Patel, who was there celebrating in the locker room for some reason. Also on the phone call, Trump commented that he’d have to invite the women’s team, who had won their gold medal a day prior, too, and that he’d be impeached if he weren’t. A so-called joke that got a big laugh from the men in the locker room.
Shockingly, the women’s hockey team didn’t find Trump’s comments funny, nor did they appreciate being asked to respond to Trump’s remark. Unlike the men’s team, the women politely declined Trump’s half-hearted invitation. They had no interest in being used as propaganda tools by the Trump Regime, not that the Regime seemed to want them there anyway. And let’s be clear, the men were props for the Regime, and Trump, who knows the value of a TV visual better than anyone. Trump’s State of the Union address was pro-fascist political theater, and most of the men’s team (five players opted to skip) were more than happy to show up and play a role in it.
In the short term, I can understand why young male athletes, who will rely on endorsement deals and social media engagement for income moving forward, would be happy for the association. Trump’s entire communications apparatus is built on rage bait, viral content, and appealing to young men in particular. There’s no denying that the exposure these players received expanded their audience and extended their moment of viral victory.
Long term, I suspect it’s a choice that they’ll come to regret and ultimately cost these players endorsement money. Especially as Trump’s poll and approval numbers remain low. Ultimately, MAGA is a toxic brand, and there’s a limit to how much mass appeal MAGA-aligned influencers can have. There’s an online graveyard of MAGAlebrities who tried to go mainstream and failed (Megyn Kelly and Oliver Anthony to name a few), and for a disgraced public figure (such as Jonathn Majors or disgraced Bachelor host Chris Harrison), MAGA-influencer is the option of last resort.
One member of the team, Brady Tkachuk, learned this lesson immediately. The White House’s official Twitter account shared an AI-generated video that made it seem like Tkachuk was insulting the Canadian team using insults and crude language. Tkachuk, who opted to visit the White House, also plays for a Canadian team and currently lives in Canada. He denounced the video, saying “that’s not who I am,” but my guess is that fans of his team in Ottawa won’t be happy with him and his choices.
Some of the players on the men’s team must realize this, which is why they’re starting to offer tepid apologies for laughing at Trump’s comments. They’re also assuring the public that they’re obviously supportive of the women’s team, and that we just don’t see how close everyone is. (A sentiment I haven’t seen any player on the women’s team share or confirm.)
It’s depressing to me how, instead of celebrating our hockey teams and every athlete who competed for America this year, we’re engaging in culture-war reruns. Nothing new is being said here. We’re back at locker room talk and MAGA reminding us once again that they don’t actually care about women’s sports or women athletes unless those women can be used as a wedge to strip Trans folks of their rights and dignity. Even the fact that the men’s hockey team has the privilege of pretending sports isn’t political, something their colleagues on the women’s team can’t do.
I choose to celebrate the women of Team USA and their accomplishments. I can’t throw them a party in Las Vegas like Flavor Flav, but I can point out that women won 8 of 12 gold medals that American athletes brought home. Women’s sports have never been more popular around the world, and everyone who isn’t part of the weird MAGA cult is cheering women athletes, teams, and leagues on. I’m excited about the big endorsement deals the women’s hockey team and athletes like Alysa Liu and Chloe Kim will land, and about how their popularity will further increase interest in women’s sports. I don’t know if women will ever get to have the privilege of their participation in sports not being political. That they’ll no longer be called on to explain someone else’s misogyny. But I have to hope that day will come.
If you’d like to learn more about women’s hockey in the US, and the creation of the National Women’s Hockey League I highly recommend watching Take The Ice a documentary film directed and produced by my friend Rachel Koteen. It includes the stories of women athletes from our gold-medal winning U.S. team.