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6 days ago
Dave Portnoy is weighing in on the controversy surrounding President Donald Trump’s alleged “joke” about the USA women’s hockey team after both the men and women took home 2026 Winter Olympics gold against the Canadians.
“People are mad, they’re going nuts. ‘How could the [USA men’s] hockey team laugh, why are they talking to the president?’ This should be a barometer of whether you’re a psychopath,” Portnoy, 48, said during the Monday, February 23, episode of FS1’s Wake Up Barstool. “If the president calls after you win the gold medal. I don’t care, if you don’t want to talk to him, fine. But to get mad when [someone] talks to the President of the United States, and he’s just congratulating them [and] chumming around.”
He continued, “If this speech made you mad, you need to take a valium and maybe just take a thousand steps back. Because there’s nothing to be mad about when a president congratulates a gold medal-winning team.”
Portnoy also touched on FBI Director Kash Patel celebrating with the team after their sudden death overtime win. In a now-viral video, the FBI director could be seen chugging a beer and wearing a gold medal around his neck alongside the players — a move that sparked criticism amid the ongoing search for Savannah Guthrie’s missing mom, Nancy Guthrie, an armed intruder at Mar-a-Lago and rising tensions both home and abroad.
Team USA’s Jack Hughes Reacts to Women’s Team Skipping State of the Union
“Even Kash Patel, that’s going viral,” Portnoy said. “People are mad there. … If I’m the director of the FBI and they invite me into the locker room, I will be there in the locker room. Why are people suddenly mad that he’s there? There’s politicians across the world at these games.”
Portnoy’s thoughts came after Trump took a dig at the women’s team when he invited the men’s team to the White House following their win on Sunday, February 22.
“We have medals for you guys. I must tell you, we‘re going to have to bring the women’s team,” he said, as the men’s team all laughed out loud.
Andreas Rentz/Getty Images“I do believe I probably would be impeached [if I didn’t invite them],” he added. “We’re giving the State of the Union speech on Tuesday night. I can send a military plane or something. But if you would like to [attend], it’s the coolest night.”
Trump went on to congratulate the team on their “unbelievable” win in overtime against Canada — the first gold medal win for men’s hockey since 1980’s iconic “Miracle on Ice.”. “
Everyone that called me said, ‘I’m watching the hockey game.’ I don’t know of anybody who wasn’t,” Trump continued.“You’re going to be proud of that game for 50 years as you grow older. It was amazing. We love you guys. Congratulations and I hope to see you.”
The USA men’s team is expected to be in attendance at the president’s State of the Union address on Tuesday evening. The women’s team declined their invitation.
“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 USA women’s team said in a statement on Monday. “Due to the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments following the Games, the athletes are unable to participate.”
The statement continued, “They were honored to be included and are grateful for the acknowledgment.”
Jack Hughes, who led the USA men’s team to victory on Sunday, broke his silence on the women’s team declining Trump’s invite on Monday.
“They’ve got busy schedules too,” the 24-year-old told the Daily Mail. “Everyone is giving us backlash for all the social media stuff today.”
He added, “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.”
President Trump Shades Team USA Women’s Hockey Team in Call With Men’s Team
Jack’s mom, Ellen Hughes, a player development consultant for the USA’s women’s ice hockey team, told Today on Tuesday, “At the end of the day, it’s just about the country.”
“These players, both the men and women, can bring so much unity to a group and to a country,” she shared. “People who 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.”
Ellen, 56, added, “If you could see what we see from the inside, and the men and women sharing dorm rooms and halls and flex floors and the camaraderie and the synergy and 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 also said that all the players “care about humanity” and “unity.”
