Public support does not excuse private ridicule

On Feb. 22, the U.S.A men’s hockey team won the gold medal match against Canada at the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics. Do you know who else won a gold medal match against Canada, three days earlier? The U.S.A women’s ice hockey team. However, only one of these teams received a call from the president, and only one of these teams laughed at a sexist joke made by said president at the expense of their female counterparts. In the eight Olympics where women’s ice hockey has been an event, the U.S.A team has never missed a podium. In that same eight Olympic span, the men’s ice hockey team has only podiumed three times. Despite a significant gap in funding and support, the women’s U.S.A hockey team has, in eight Olympics, done what the U.S.A men’s ice hockey team has done in 25: brought home three gold medals.

If one looks deeper into the success of the U.S.A women’s hockey team, the first American on the list of ice hockey athlete medal leaders is Hilary Knight. Knight is the current captain of the Seattle Torrent in the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) and has a total of five Olympic medals, the second American on that list is Kendall Coyne Schofield, who has a total of four Olympic medals. It is also important to mention that women brought home more medals in the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics than men. Yet none of these women received personal congratulatory phone calls from the president.

There is a distinct lack of celebration for the women who have worked just as hard as, if not harder than, the men to win an Olympic gold medal. To see this gross inattention to women’s accomplishments is disheartening and damaging to the young women and children in America, who often look up to those who represent their sports. While it is important to remember that the men’s hockey team does not represent all Americans, it is equally important to remember the power these men hold over hockey youth, both boys and girls, around the world. To see them laugh at the accomplishments of the women’s team sends a powerful message to these kids: If you’re a girl, you don’t belong and if you’re a boy, this is appropriate behavior.

Regardless of if they intended to send a political message when partying with Kash Patel, the Director of the F.B.I., and laughing at the president’s remarks of having to invite the women or he’d “be impeached,” the members of the men’s hockey team did send one. The message they sent reflects the pervasive and misogynistic culture around male-dominated sports, something often referred to as “locker room talk.” People have pointed out that these men have supported the women’s team throughout their Olympic journey, posting selfies with them online and showing up at their games. But their behavior in private, when they think no one is listening or recording, tells a different story.

Perhaps they were caught up in the moment or had drank a little too much in their excitement over having won the first U.S.A men’s hockey gold medal since the “Miracle on Ice” of 1980. Or perhaps we should stop making excuses for grown men who choose to go along with a misogynistic joke, where the women’s hockey team was made out to be a burden to the President of the United States, who have yet to apologize and instead continue to emphasize their public support of the women’s team while disparaging them in private. Alcohol, excitement and celebration are not excuses for misogyny. Public support does not excuse private ridicule. And criticizing your leaders does not contradict one’s love for their country. Do better.