It was Hilary Knight’s turn to provide a big laugh in the wake of a weeklong dust-up involving the United States women and men’s Olympic gold medal-winning hockey teams.
Knight, the US women’s captain, along with teammate Megan Keller and men’s team brothers Jack and Quinn Hughes, made a surprise appearance during Heated Rivalry star Connor Storrie’s opening monologue on SNL on Saturday night, February 28, Associated Press reported.
With the Hughes brothers already on stage alongside Storrie, Knight and Keller joined them to a loud and lengthy ovation. The four players wore USA jerseys with their gold medals draped from their necks.
Knight opened by saying, “It was going to be just us, but we thought we’d invite the guys, too.”
The remark was a clear reference to a controversy that arose when the men received a congratulatory call from President Donald Trump following their 2-1 overtime win against Canada on Sunday at the Milan Cortina Games.
Addressing the team over a speakerphone, Trump invited the men to his State of the Union speech, before adding he would have to also invite the women, too.
The president later said if he didn’t invite the women, he’d risk being impeached, which led to the players laughing at a comment many saw as sexist.
Laughing, Jack Hughes responded by saying, “nice burn,” before turning to Storrie and saying, “These gold medals aren’t just for us, they’re for all hockey fans, yours’ too.”
When Storrie asked if he could try on one of the medals, all four players turned and said, “No.”
Knight on Wednesday referred to the joke as being “distasteful and unfortunate.”
Many of the men, meantime, said they laughed while being caught up in the celebration. Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman acknowledged they “should have reacted differently” to Trump’s remarks.
The US women, who also beat Canada 2-1 in overtime three days earlier, politely declined Trump’s invitation due to travel plans.
The players traveled commercially and returned to North America late Monday evening, well after the men, who traveled on a charter flight paid for by the NHL and NHL Players’ Association.
