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Mom Of U.S. Hockey Hero Addresses Team's Viral Call With Donald Trump
Ellen Hughes is speaking out after her two sons on the U.S. men’s ice hockey team, golden goal-scoring hero Jack and his brother Quinn Hughes, were seen laughing in response to Donald Trump’s patronizing joke about having to invite the gold medal-winning women’s team to the nation’s capital.
Ellen Hughes, who played for the American women’s squad in the early ’90s before the sport hit the Olympic ice, was asked by NBC’s “Today” show how the president’s comments landed with her.
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“Well, I think at the end of the day, it’s just about the country and the moment that these players, both the men and women, can bring so much unity to a group and to a country,” said Hughes, who is now a player development consultant for the women’s team. “People that cheered on that don’t watch hockey, people that have politics on one side or on the other side, and that’s all both the men’s team and the women’s team care about.”
Hughes went on to remark on the “synergy” between the two squads, both of whom made the undefeated journey to Olympic gold before ultimately taking down their Canadian rivals in overtime by the same score, 2-1.
“The way the women cheered on the men and the way the men cheered on the women — that’s what it’s all about,” she stressed.
“And the other things they cannot control. They care about humanity. They care about unity and they care about the country.”
Trump’s over-the-phone joke and the resulting locker-room laughter from the Hughes brothers and their teammates have sparked backlash in the days since, including from fans of the Professional Women’s Hockey League.
USA Hockey — which oversees both teams — later announced that the women’s squad turned down the White House’s invite to attend the president’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, citing scheduling conflicts.
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The news led “Public Enemy” rapper Flavor Flav to invite the American women to a future ceremony in Las Vegas. The Team USA hype man said the women’s squad has since accepted his offer.
Trump’s plans for the men’s squad to attend his SOTU address appear to be coming to fruition, as several players shared photos aboard an Air Force jet on Tuesday.
Golden goal scorer Jack Hughes told the Daily Mail that the men’s team is excited to head to D.C. before adding, “Everything is so political. We’re athletes.”
He told the tabloid that the women, like the men, also have “busy schedules.”
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“Everyone is giving us backlash for all the social media stuff today,” he said. “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.”
It remains unclear whether members of either team, as Trump pitched, would attend a White House ceremony that he eyed for Wednesday.
Such plans could conflict with the return of both NHL and PWHL hockey as teams are set to resume play on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
HuffPost has reached out to the White House and USA Hockey for comment.
