List of US men's hockey players who decided to skip White House visit and their reasons why
Topics: News, US News, Sport, Donald Trump, Politics
Kit Roberts
Featured Image Credit: Elsa/Getty Images
Topics: News, US News, Sport, Donald Trump, Politics
The US men's hockey team have been criticized for attending the White House after winning the gold at the Olympics, but some of them missed the event.
The men's team took the gold at the Winter Olympics, and President Donald Trump invited them to the State of the Union address.
While speaking to the team, Trump also made a widely criticized joke about the US women's team, saying 'I do believe I probably would be impeached' if he didn't invite them too, met with a roar of laughter from the men's team.
Many saw the joke as highly disrespectful of the women's team, and it was slammed as a 'misogynistic disgusting a** joke'.
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The women's ice hockey team also romped home to victory and took the gold for Team USA in a stunning 2-1 win over Canada.
Not all the men on the men's team went to the White House, and gave a variety of reasons.
Connor was training with the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday for a match against the Vancouver Canucks, choosing to return to Winnipeg rather than visit the White House.
He said: "It's a quick turnaround. I haven't been playing so I wanted to get a practice under me and be ready."
Oettinger, who plays for the Dallas Stars, also wanted to return to training immediately as the regular NHL season resumes, and therefore skipped the State of the Union address.
He said: "Getting invited to the White House is a tremendous honor. I’ve basically been living in Italy for a month. I wasn’t playing much.
"I wanted to get back and get my game ready to go. I also have a 3-month-old baby at home that I’ve been traveling the world with, so that’s what went into that.
"I think those guys had a great time there [at the White House], but that’s why I didn’t go."
Nelson plays for the Colorado Avalanche, who face off against the Utah Mammoth today (February 26).
He told the Denver Post: "I think for the guys being invited to the White House, I heard the women’s team was invited to the White House as well, it’s everyone’s right to kind of choose if they wanted to go or not.
"For me, it just didn’t work out schedule-wise. My family coming back, the schedule of our games - five in seven days.
"Kind of bummed that I missed it, but for me it just didn’t work out. I wanted to help my family get home and that was it."
Tampa Bay Lightning star Guentzel is also due to play today against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
He said: "It was just kind of a timing thing for me and my family. I was definitely not denying the request to go.
"It would obviously be a dream come true to go. I was fortunate to go in 2017 when Trump was in office.
"Two weeks of Olympic break, just thought it would be a good idea to come home, rest and recover, and try to spend some time with my family before we get going."
LaCombe told The Hockey News: "I love our country, and you know, I love whoever’s in office, so it was such an honor, but I just wanted to be back here for the game, and it was a tight window, so I couldn’t really make it work."
His team the Anaheim Ducks play the Edmonton Olliers today, so he was eager to get back to California.
Meanwhile, the women's team rejected the president's invitation, citing 'timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments'.
Rapper Flavor Flav offered to help the women's hockey team celebrate in style, calling on companies to help him fly them out to Las Vegas and put on a big party, and has since extended the invitation to all female medallists on Team USA, urging his followers: "Support women's sports!"