The 2026 Winter Olympics just came to an end, and it was eventful to say the least. With games coming down to the wire, and performances exceeding human capabilities, it was a great demonstration of talent and opportunity to represent each country.
The U.S. finished in second place holding 12 Gold Medals. The men’s hockey team pulled out a Gold medal in a thrilling championship game versus reigning champions Canada. They received an invitation to the White House from president Donald Trump to celebrate the hard earned victory.
While a feat worth celebrating, many people have their heads turned the wrong way. Women’s hockey cruised to a gold medal with ease, but received far less recognition for their accomplishment.
However, they too received an invitation to the White House from Trump, but not in the way they expected. Trump attempted to make a joke on the situation claiming that he would be impeached if he did not invite the Women’s Hockey Team to the White House. This statement and comedic effort by Trump immediately received backlash from many, even the Hockey team themselves, leading to a bitter response.
The joke may have seemed funny in Trump’s head, but was not a good idea to say out loud. It establishes a chauvinistic prejudice towards the successful women in our country, that hinders their achievements and accomplishments.
Women accounted for 8 out of the 12 gold medals for USA’s Olympic team, being the sole reason the U.S. even had a fighting chance in contention, and podium finish in this year’s Olympics.
It’s almost unfathomable that in a country of freedom and equality they seem to favor one gender over the other. Gender inequality is already a timely cause in the world, and events like these only put more fuel on the fire, and emphasize the need and cruciality for a change.
Why does the men’s team receive a warm and congratulating invite, while the women get leftovers and an act derived from pity, and fear of the press or criticism? Jokes are not to be made when honoring success, and especially not for one group of people who are already struggling with underappreciation.
The women took this offensively, and turned down the invitation instantly. Why did the women receive such a disrespectful invite and attitude, when their team destroyed all the competition? The men had just barely pulled off the victory, and barely made it to the finals game in the first place.
The role of president is indeed a difficult role to play, and mess ups will happen when the wrong thing is said or wrong move is made. The failure to own up to the mistake is ridiculous, and the pride and ego needs to be dropped, or people are going to get hurt.
