They won gold medal just like their men’s counterpart, but US women’s hockey team just declined Trump’s State of the Union invitation

The U.S. women’s gold medal-winning hockey team has officially declined President Trump’s invitation to attend his State of the Union address, as reported by The Hill. This news comes after a video went viral showing the president humorously telling the men’s team, who also snagged a gold medal, that he’d be impeached if he didn’t invite the women.

USA Hockey issued a statement that the team is “sincerely grateful for the invitation” and deeply appreciates the recognition of their “extraordinary achievement.” However, the official word from the team is that “due to the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments following the Games, the athletes are unable to participate.”

It seems the invitation didn’t even reach the team until late Sunday night, making it super difficult for them to change their travel plans. Most of the players weren’t set to land back in North America until Monday night after the Olympic Games’ closing ceremony. The women’s team was on a commercial flight heading to Atlanta, while the men’s team had a charter flight to Miami.

It’s still up in the air whether the men’s team will attend the president’s address

President Trump had a chat with the men’s team on Sunday, and that’s where the viral moment happened. He told the players, “we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that.” He even added that if he didn’t invite them, “I do believe I probably would be impeached.”

This whole situation also follows a bit of a buzz around FBI Director Kash Patel. He was spotted celebrating with the U.S. men’s hockey team in their locker room after their big gold medal victory over Canada on Sunday. Patel was seen having a drink and banging his hand on a table, really getting into the festivities. He later took to X to address “the very concerned media,” stating that he was invited “to celebrate this historic moment with the boys.”