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U.S. women's ice hockey team captain Hilary Knight called the joke made by President Donald Trump about her team in a viral video "distasteful" during an appearance on SportsCenter Wednesday (February 25).
"I thought it was sort of a distasteful joke and unfortunately that is overshadowing a lot of the success, the success of just women at the Olympics carrying for Team USA and having amazing gold medal feats," Knight said via ESPN. "We're just focusing on celebrating the women in our room, the extraordinary efforts, and continue to celebrate three gold medals in program history as well as the double gold for both men's and women's at the same time. And really not detract from that with a distasteful joke."
A viral clip showed FBI Director Kash Patel holding a cellphone inside the U.S. men's ice hockey team's locker room after their gold medal victory with Trump on speaker when he invited the team to his State of the Union address. The president then joked that he'd also have to invite the U.S. women's ice hockey team, who also defeated Canada to win gold, or he "would be impeached."
The U.S. women's ice hockey team declined Trump's invitation to the State of the Union address, a USA Hockey spokesperson said in a statement obtained by NBC News, though claiming it was "due to the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments following the Games, the athletes are unable to participate."
"We're just focusing on celebrating the women in our room, the extraordinary efforts, and continue to celebrate three gold medals in program history as well as the double gold for both men's and women's at the same time. And really not detract from that with a distasteful joke," Knight added during her SportsCenter appearance.
Knight, who is set to retire, scored the game-tying goal in the third period of the U.S. women's ice hockey team's gold medal game win against Canada. The U.S. women's hockey team outscored its opponents, 33-2, which included five shutouts, while going a perfect 7-0 in Olympic play.