Featured Image Credit: Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images
Topics: Politics, US News, Sport, Olympics, Donald Trump, News, World News
Rhianna Benson
Topics: Politics, US News, Sport, Olympics, Donald Trump, News, World News
Several members of Team USA's female hockey team have subtly shared their thoughts on a 'sexist' remark Donald Trump made earlier this week about their Olympic victory.
For anyone out of the loop, the women's team came out on top against Canada in Milan over the weekend, securing themselves gold medals with a breathtaking 2-1 win. As a result of the achievement, a spokesperson for the President extended an invitation to them to attend the State of the Union address he gave on Tuesday (24 Feb).
The leading ladies went on to decline 79-year-old Trump's offer, citing 'timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments' in a statement to NBC, but insisting: "They were honoured to be included and are grateful for the acknowledgement."
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A video soon emerged, however, showing the Republican leader calling the men's hockey team, who secured an identical 2-1 victory against Canada, personally, to congratulate them.
The viral footage hears Trump on a loudspeaker telling the group, who are listening in from their locker room: "We’re giving the State of the Union speech on Tuesday night. I could send a military plane or something, if you would like to. It’s the coolest night. It’s the biggest speech."
The politician's tone then changes as he brings up the women's equal win.
"And we have to - I must tell you - we’re going to have to bring the women’s team," Trump added. "[If I don’t] do that, I do believe I probably would be impeached, OK?"
His remarks - which a number of onlookers have since slammed as a 'misogynistic disgusting a** joke' - were immediately met with roars of laughter from the men's team, sparking further backlash.
As we say, however, a number of sports fans have since spotted several female players sharing their thoughts on the matter on Instagram.
Their reactions came after an account with the username @togethxr uploaded a quote which they attributed to much-loved comedian Tina Fey.
It read, 'You can tell how smart people are by what they laugh at.'
A screengrab of a post was later shared to Reddit, showing that a number of Team USA's women's hockey team had 'liked' the post.
This included Laila Edwards, Gwyneth Philips, and Taylor Heise.
The pointed post almost certainly alluded to the men's team's unfavourable reaction to Trump's controversial comments, which they seemed to find rather amusing at the time.
As a reminder, male athlete Jack Hughes previously attempted to defend his team for failing to call Trump's damning comments, telling the Daily Mail: "They've got busy schedules, too. Everyone is giving us backlash for all the social media stuff today.
"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. Our relationship with them [the women's team], over the course of being in the Athletes' Village, I think we are so tight with their group."
He continued: "After we won the gold medal, we were in the cafeteria at 3.30 am in the morning with them, and we go from there, pack our bags and we're on the bus. 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."
Reacting to the girls' latest online move, a number of Reddit users have since pledged their support.
One went on to joke: "As a Canadian I'd never thought the day would come where I could say I support a US national team but here we are."
Another agreed with the women's apparent stance on the matter, adding: "Men say not all men, but then they have this fantastic opportunity to stand up for women and they decided to do what's easiest and aligns with their individual interests. So disappointing."
A third gushed: "Women. Doing it for themselves! Love that Tina Fey quote. Perfection."
According to reports, 20 male players went on to attend Trump's Washington D.C. address on Tuesday (24 February), whilst five were absent.
The right-wing leader is also said to have addressed the women's decision to decline his invite during is speech.
As reported by Fox News, after Trump gave the attending boys a shout-out, attendees within the House chamber saluted the group.
"They beat a fantastic Canadian team in overtime, as everybody saw, as did the American women who will soon be coming to the White House," the President claimed.