A member of the Olympic gold medal-winning U.S. women’s hockey team told CBS News on Tuesday that the team’s absence from President Trump’s State of the Union address was due to logistical challenges, and not related to the controversy surrounding a joke the president made during a video call with the U.S. men’s team.
Decorated U.S. women’s hockey veteran Kelly Pannek spoke with CBS News during a practice with her professional team in Minneapolis. “I know, like, later on, there’ll be a full invite for all Team USA athletes to go to the White House like there has been in the past,” she said.
When asked if she wants the women’s team to receive their own White House invitation, Pannek responded, “We want it to be about how great of an experience it was for us. You know, having team gold medals come out of USA hockey. It’s something we’ve never done before.”
Both the men’s and women’s teams returned from the Milano Cortina Games with gold medals, each securing 2-1 overtime wins over Canada. However, their celebrations have been markedly different.
The U.S. men received a hero’s welcome on Tuesday. The U.S. Air Force flew them from Miami to Joint Base Andrews, and the players were hosted at the White House by President Trump. They were then brought into the House Chamber to tumultuous applause during his State of the Union address.
During the speech, the president also announced that he would be awarding U.S. goalkeeper Connor Hellebuyck the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, recognizing his heroics that helped secure the men’s first gold medal since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” team.
On Monday, meanwhile, the U.S. women’s team stated it had declined an invitation to attend the State of the Union. A spokesperson said the athletes had “previously scheduled academic and professional commitments.” Several members of the women’s team were already back on the ice this week, practicing with their various professional and college teams.
The controversy began during a video call Sunday between President Trump and the U.S. men’s team in their locker room after defeating Canada. The president suggested he would fly the men’s team to Washington to meet at the White House, then joked, “I must tell you, we’re gonna have to bring the women’s team, you do know that?” The comment drew laughter from the players.
President Trump then joked further on the call, saying he “probably would be impeached” if he failed to invite the women’s team.
Following the fallout over the call, U.S. men’s backup goalie Jeremy Swayman, a member of the Boston Bruins, told reporters on Wednesday that his team “should have reacted differently” to the president’s comments.
“We know that we are so excited for the women’s team, we have so much respect for the women’s team,” Swayman said. “To share that gold medal with them is something that we’re forever grateful for.”
Pannek echoed Swayman’s sentiments, emphasizing the close bond between the teams. She said the two teams “felt like” one family while in Italy and have nothing but mutual admiration for each other.
“It really did feel like that, you know, full Team USA. And that’s part of the great thing about being at the Olympics,” Pannek added.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kelly-pannek-u-s-womens-hockey-state-of-the-union-logistical-challenges/