Team USA hero Jack Hughes defends women's team for skipping White House visit: 'Everything is so political'
The men's Olympic hockey team is headed to the State of the Union address on Tuesday, but the women have other plans.
On Sunday, Team USA men's hockey completed the sweep of the hockey category with a 2-1 overtime win against Canada, winning gold just as the USA women did days prior.
'We are sincerely grateful for the invitation extended to our gold medal-winning US Women's Hockey Team.'
After the men's win, President Donald Trump gave the team a call in the locker room in what was a highly circulated moment of patriotic celebration.
"Unbelievable. You were all unbelievable. That team is pretty good you played," Trump said about the Canadians.
He then invited the team to his presidential address on Tuesday.
"We could send a military plane or something. But if you would like to [attend], it's the coolest night. ... We'll do the White House the next day."
The president then joked, "We're going to have to bring the women's team," or else he "probably would be impeached."
The invitation was sincere, however, and the men unanimously agreed they would love to go to the event. The same could not be said about the women's team though.
"We are sincerely grateful for the invitation extended to our gold medal-winning U.S. Women's Hockey Team and deeply appreciate the recognition of their extraordinary achievement," a spokesperson for the American women began.
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"Due to the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments following the Games, the athletes are unable to participate. They were honored to be included and are grateful for the acknowledgment," the statement added, per CNN.
Those academic commitments are likely in reference to the fact that seven of the American women on the Team USA roster are still in college.
Four players are currently playing in Wisconsin: Laila Edwards, Caroline Harvey, Ava McNaughton, and Kirsten Simms.
Abbey Murphy goes to Minnesota, Joy Dunne plays at Ohio State, while Tessa Janecke plays for Penn State, the NCAA noted. It is also noteworthy that 23 of the women previously played NCAA hockey as well.
For the men, the NHL schedule picks back up Wednesday night at 7 p.m. ET.
Hero Jack Hughes, who scored the gold medal-winning goal, was asked about the women declining the invitation; he quickly came to their defense.
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"People are so negative out there, and they are just trying to find a reason to put people down and make something out of almost nothing," Hughes said from Miami, where the team has been seen celebrating their win.
"People are so negative about things. I think everyone in that locker room knows how much we support them, how proud we are of them. And we know the same way we feel about them, they feel about us," the athlete continued, per the Daily Mail.
Hughes was asked about visiting the president too, to which he said the team was indeed "excited."
"Everything is so political. We're athletes," he explained. "'We're so proud to represent the U.S., 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."
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