Former women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe is reportedly taking aim at the U.S. men’s hockey team, accusing the players of allowing their gold medal celebration to be “co-opted” by the Trump administration following their dramatic overtime victory over Canada.
After clinching gold in a thrilling championship game, the men’s team welcomed FBI Director Kash Patel into the locker room for the post-game celebration. Patel then placed a call to President Donald Trump, giving the commander-in-chief the opportunity to personally congratulate the players on their victory.
During the call, Trump invited the men’s team to attend the State of the Union address. The players enthusiastically accepted the invitation. The president then added that he would “have to” also invite the women’s team, joking that he could face impeachment if he didn’t. The comment drew laughter from those in the room.
The women’s team had also captured gold just days earlier, marking a major achievement for both squads.
When the men returned to their respective NHL teams, several players made clear they supported the women’s team as well. Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman told reporters that the team “should’ve reacted differently” to Trump’s joke, signaling some second thoughts about how the moment was handled.
Rapinoe, however, was far more critical.
Speaking on Thursday’s episode of A Touch More with Sue Bird & Megan Rapinoe, she argued that the men undermined what should have been a once-in-a-lifetime celebration.
“The United States men’s hockey team, in their utter moment of glory — childhood dreams come true, once-in-a-lifetime accomplishment, sensational — ruined it for themselves because they allowed themselves to be totally co-opted by a clown,” Rapinoe said. “And now you’re a clown. You look like a clown.”
Rapinoe also took issue with Patel’s presence in the locker room, describing the scene of celebration in blunt terms.
“Kash Patel is in the locker room. He’s partying. He’s chugging beers. I’m not, like, decorum over everything. That’s not what I need out of my FBI director. Like, what are we doing? That’s just whatever, beside the point,” she said.
She further criticized the phone call to Trump, questioning whether it was even conducted on a secure line, though she acknowledged that was “beside the point.” Rapinoe objected in particular to the president’s remarks about the women’s team and declined to replay them on her podcast, saying the clip was already widely available online and that she did not want to “platform that trash.”
Later in the discussion, Rapinoe reflected on her own experience following the U.S. women’s soccer team’s World Cup victory in 2019. At the time, she publicly declared that the team would not be visiting the White House.
“We had this opportunity after 2019,” she said, recalling her widely publicized comment that the team was “not going to the White House” and would not even be invited. She said the president attempted to “back-channel” an invitation, but the team declined.
“We were like, ‘No,’ because we know — we’re not going to be naive in this moment — we know that moment is going to be co-opted because we know this person,” Rapinoe said. “Let’s not pretend like we don’t know who this person is.”
Her remarks underscore the stark divide that continues to surface when sports, politics, and the presidency intersect — even in moments meant to celebrate American victory on the world stage.
[READ MORE: DeSantis Charts Skeptical Path on AI as 2028 Field Begins to Take Shape]
