Here’s the Truth About Team USA Women’s Hockey’s Decision to Not Attend the State of the Union at the White House

Team USA Women wanted nothing to do with Donald Trump.

The Team USA women’s hockey squad received online support after declining an invitation from the White House to attend the State of the Union address. The winning team, which beat Canada for the gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics, cited “timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments” as the reason behind their decline.

However, the team’s declining of the invite also came after a controversial phone call from President Donald Trump. He spoke to the men’s hockey team after they also beat Canada for a gold medal on Sunday.

During the call, Trump invited the men’s team to the State of the Union and a White House visit. He also offered to transport them on a military plane. Trump then took a shot at the women. He also said on the call, “I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that?” The president added, jokingly, “I do believe I probably would be impeached” if he didn’t invite the women’s team.

The phone call sparked discussion on social media, with the Team USA women’s team praised for declining his invite.

USA Hockey spokesperson:

“We are sincerely grateful for the invitation extended to our gold medal–winning U.S. Women’s Hockey Team and deeply appreciate the recognition of their extraordinary achievement…They were honored to be included and are grateful for the acknowledgment.”

Now, we may be finding out the absolute truth of why they declined.

Why Team USA Declined Donald Trump’s Invitation

Feb 19, 2026; Milan, Italy; Team USA takes a selfie with their gold medals after defeating Canada (Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images)

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Content creator and writer Jon Root for Outkick is revealing the true reasons the ladies declined Trump’s invite. The team was actually invited before that now-infamous phone call.

He stated that many team members found his comments humorous and did not take offense. Jack & Quinn Hughes’ mother was also not offended. She is a player development consultant for the women’s team.

1. Team USA women’s hockey knew they were invited to The White House prior to Trump’s call with the men’s team. They weren’t an “afterthought” as many have reported.

2. Many team members found Trump saying “we have to invite the women too or I’ll get impeached”, humorous, didn’t take offense, and knew it was a joke.

3. Jack & Quinn Hughes mother, who is a player development consultant for the women’s team, was not offended by Trump’s call, nor was she offended by her sons/their team’s laughter after Trump’s comment.

4. A few players spoke against accepting Trump’s invitation to attend The State of the Union in the team chat. I don’t know exactly who, but based on past comments and actions, we can speculate Captain Hilary Knight was one of those players. So this decision does have a political element to it.

5. USA Hockey is actively trying to schedule a White House visit after the NCAA/PWHL seasons, because they want the publicity. My opinion, there’s no better publicity than now. They’re squandering a MASSIVE opportunity, while the men are capitalizing on it, and uniting America around their team.

6. The “academic and professional commitments” excuse has validity, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Accommodations were offered to ensure players could get back to school and prepare for the second half of the PWHL season starting Thursday (NHL resumes Wednesday).

*Majority of this information was provided by an inside source connected to the team & has direct contact with many of it’s players

Overall, the women’s team could’ve made this work, but they declined, which means this will go down as the biggest missed opportunity to promote women’s hockey in the history of the sport…

For a league (PWHL) actively working to add expansion teams this offseason, and add “franchise level” contracts, this a incredibly poor PR decision. Via Jon Root


Root also revealed that a few players spoke against accepting Trump’s invitation in a team chat. He did not know which players it was. Root added that USA Hockey is actively trying to schedule a White House visit after the NCAA/PWHL seasons.

Last, but not least, he said the “academic and professional commitments” excuse has some validity. However, accommodations were provided to ensure Team USA players could return to school and prepare for the second half of the PWHL season.