Five U.S. Men's Hockey Players Announced They'd Be Skipping the Team's Controversial White House Visit
Five players soon emerged as opt-outs, but their reasons may not be altruistic.
Published Feb. 25 2026, 2:28 p.m. ET
Winning the gold at the Milan 2026 Winter Olympics after 46 years of a gold drought should have been the biggest moment in the careers of the U.S. men's hockey team. But, very quickly, their win turned into a firestorm of controversy.
The team was blasted for partying with FBI Director Kash Patel and laughing with President Donald Trump over a misogynistic joke.
Not only were they invited to attend Trump's State of the Union address, but the president also extended an invitation to them to visit the White House. However, headlines soon began buzzing that several players would be skipping the controversial White House visit.
Here's why they opted out, and why people are so furious at the team amid what should have been their moment of triumph.
Multiple U.S. men's hockey players announced they would be skipping the controversial White House visit.
After the team was embroiled in controversy for their association with Trump amid times of increased local and international tensions, fans called on them to boycott the White House visit.
However, star player Jack Hughes soon made it clear why they wouldn't be skipping. People were making things "too political," he complained, via The Independent.
But headlines began circulating that five players were opting out of the visit: Jackson LaCombe, Brock Nelson, Jake Oettinger, Kyle Connor, and Jake Guentzel.
Some fans rejoiced, thinking the players were taking a stand against Trump's crude comments about the gold-winning women's hockey team and his controversial presidency.
But, according to the New York Post, the players skipped due to scheduling conflicts rather than a conscious decision to stick it to the administration.
Yet it sent a message anyway. As some teammates posed with Trump and even let him wear a gold medal, others were elsewhere, regardless of the reason.
Some U.S. men's hockey players attended Trump's State of the Union amid massive backlash.
It's unclear what the long-term impact will be of the team's apparent alignment with the controversial administration and its unpopular policies.
A February NPR/PBS News/Marist poll found that just 39 percent of Americans approve of the overall job the president is doing.
Controversies over his Department of Justice's fumbling of the Epstein file roll-outs, the behavior of ICE agents under his administration, and his apparent wanton desire for war with anyone and everyone have all added up to a deeply controversial president whose association has sullied the big win of the men's hockey team.
After they won the gold medal, FBI Director Kash Patel celebrated in the locker room with the team. Later, they accepted a phone call with Trump, wherein he invited them to attend the State of the Union and White House. Trump, unable to avoid a quip demeaning the women's hockey team, which also won a gold medal, joked that he would have to invite the women's team or risk impeachment.
The joke went over like a lead balloon for most people, but the team laughed at the president's comment, which has prompted outcry and backlash.
During a time when people are starting to question what Trump's true involvement with the late convicted predator and human trafficker Jeffrey Epstein was, choosing to celebrate with the administration was a deeply political statement, despite Hughes's wish otherwise.