NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has come to the defence of the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team. He states that the players faced an “unfair” portrayal following a controversial phone call with President Donald Trump. This occurred after their gold medal victory at the Milan-Cortina Winter Games.

Speaking to the media in Calgary on Tuesday, Bettman addressed the fallout from a locker room speakerphone call. This drew widespread criticism on social media after some players laughed when Trump joked that he would “probably be impeached” if he didn’t also invite the women’s gold medal-winning team to the State of the Union address.

“I’m not going to weigh in on the political front,” Bettman said. “I think what was portrayed was unfortunate, not accurate, and I know for a fact that the men’s team had no intention of doing anything to slight the women’s team.”

“Two for Two”

The commissioner emphasized the mutual respect between both teams, noting that players from both squads celebrated their dual gold medal victories together.

“If anything, both teams were chanting, ‘two-for-two,’” Bettman explained. “How what happened, and how it was portrayed, I wish didn’t happen the way it did, and I think it was unfair to the men’s team.”

Both U.S. teams won gold in dramatic fashion, defeating Canada 2–1 in overtime in their respective finals. The synchronized victories marked a historic moment for American hockey.

Bettman pointed to comments from U.S. women’s captain Hilary Knight and other female players as evidence that the controversy was overblown.

“I don’t think the women’s team had a different view of it,” he said. “I mean, look at Hilary Knight and the others talking about what happened. These two teams respected each other.”

Bettman on the fallout from Trump's post-Olympics phone call with the U.S. men's team:
“I'm not going to weigh in on the political front. I think what was portrayed was unfortunate, not accurate, and I know for a fact that the men's team had no intention of doing anything to…

— Eric Francis (@EricFrancis) March 3, 2026

While Knight did call Trump’s remark a “distasteful joke” in a SportsCenter interview, she also described the men’s laughter as a “quick lapse” in judgment. She said, “The guys were in a tough spot.” Knight later appeared alongside several male players, including Jack and Quinn Hughes, on Saturday Night Live, further demonstrating the camaraderie between the teams.

Several players acknowledged the misstep

Several members of the men’s team addressed the incident in the days following their gold medal win. Backup goaltender Jeremy Swayman said the team “should have reacted differently” to Trump’s comments. Meanwhile, captain Auston Matthews called the situation “unfortunate” and reiterated support for the women’s team.

However, goal-scorer Jack Hughes took a different stance when asked about the controversy. “It is what it is,” Hughes said. “We’re just hockey players, right? So, we did our job.”

Hughes also revealed that the first thing he thought about when scoring the golden goal was Megan Keller. She had scored the women’s team’s overtime winner three days earlier. The Hughes brothers’ mother, Ellen, a former Team USA player herself, said the players only cared about “bringing so much unity to a group and to a country.”

20 out of 25 players of the men’s team later attended Trump’s White House reception on February 24. They were cheered during his State of the Union address at the Capitol. Meanwhile, the women’s team declined the State of the Union invitation.