A video recently circulated online showing President Donald Trump on a call with the U.S. men’s hockey team, mocking the idea of inviting the women’s hockey team to the White House to celebrate their Olympic victory. Following this comment, the men’s hockey team laughed at the idea of the women’s team being able to celebrate their victory alongside them. While the clip feels brief and casual, the message it sends is anything but.
The suggestion that the women’s team would be honored in the same way was laughable to our president. What is extra painful is that the men’s team — a group that understands the dedication required to compete at the Olympic level — joined in on the laughter.
The U.S. women’s hockey team has been one of the most consistent dynasties in international sport. Since women’s hockey was introduced at the 1998 Winter Olympics, the United States has medaled eight times, including three gold. That sustained excellence is not new.
By contrast, the men’s team’s recent gold marked its first Olympic gold in 46 years and its first medal since 2010. That achievement deserves celebration, but so does the women’s continued dominance.
This is not about pitting one team against the other. It is about examining why two teams with the same medals around their necks are not treated with the same respect. Women’s sports receive a fraction of total sports coverage in the United States, often cited at less than 10% of airtime and reporting, even as viewership for women’s events continues to rise.
The 2023 NCAA women’s basketball championship drew record-breaking audiences. The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup shattered global viewership numbers. The interest is clearly there. It is the investment and respect that continue to lag behind.
A visit to the White House signals that a team has earned national attention, that their accomplishments are worth country-wide celebration. Seeing laughter greet the idea that women deserve that same recognition alongside a joke from the president himself proves that women’s achievements are still viewed as secondary, conditional and less legitimate.
If we are willing to cheer for women when their victories make us look progressive, we should also be willing to defend their legitimacy when it is mocked.
This situation serves as a reminder that sexism is not abstract or distant — it is still obvious in what gets celebrated and who gets laughed at. At Tulane University, we should all be conscious of how we treat the female athletes who represent our school and show an equal amount of support and respect for them as we do male athletes.