Jack Hughes mom Ellen addresses controversy around President Trump women’s hockey team joke and Team USA reaction | NHL News
Ellen Hughes is speaking up after a video of the U.S. men’s hockey team laughing during a phone call with President Donald Trump spread quickly online. The call happened after the men’s team won gold against Canada. During the conversation, President Trump invited the team to attend his State of the Union address on Tuesday. Then he added something that got people talking.“I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that,” the president said. The room filled with laughter. He continued, “If we didn’t, I do believe I’d probably be impeached.” Some fans felt the comment sounded like a joke aimed at the women’s team, which had also just won gold in an overtime thriller against Canada. Because the men’s players laughed, many people on social media questioned whether they were supporting the remark. On Tuesday, Ellen Hughes, mother of Team USA stars Jack Hughes and Quinn Hughes, addressed the reaction during an interview with TODAY. She also works as a player development consultant for USA women’s hockey, so she sees both teams up close.“These players, both the men and women, can bring so much unity to a group and to a country,” she said on TODAY. “At the end of the day, it’s just about the country.”She made it clear that, from her view, the bond between the teams is real and strong.“People that cheered on that don’t watch hockey, people that have politics on one side or on the other side, and that’s all both the men’s team and the women’s team care about,” she added.She also spoke about what fans do not always see.“If you could see what we see from the inside, and the men and women sharing, you know, dorm rooms and halls and flex floors and the camaraderie and the synergy and the way the women cheered on the men and the way the men cheered on the women, that’s what it’s all about,” she said. “And the other things they cannot control. They care about humanity. They care about unity and they care about the country.”
Jack Hughes and Quinn Hughes speak on TODAY about support between men’s and women’s teams
Jack Hughes and Quinn Hughes also appeared on TODAY and addressed the situation directly.“I’m glad you brought up the women because it was amazing to spend some time with them, too,” Quinn Hughes said, according to TODAY. “And then obviously watch them, me and Jack were there, we watched them win the gold medal.”He added, “They came to our game and were able to watch us. So just the support back and forth, just to get to know them a little better was special, too.”The women’s team confirmed on Monday that they were invited to the State of the Union but declined because of “the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments.”The men’s team plans to attend.“I don’t know how much we’re allowed to say, but yes. Yeah, we’re excited to go,” Quinn Hughes told TODAY. “It’s something you don’t get to do, I don’t know what today is, every Tuesday. But yeah, it’s going to be special for us. But I’m glad you mentioned the women’s team again. You know, we’re extremely happy for them. Obviously, a lot going on on social media right now surrounding our team and their team. But, you know, in the last couple summers, we did a lot of training with them and got to know a lot of those girls really well.”
