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On February 22\u2014the 46th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice<\/a>\u2014the United States won its first men’s Olympic hockey gold medal since 1980. Matt Boldy opened the scoring in the first period, sending the Catman Cafe in Mansfield, Massachusetts\u2014where his mom, Jen, works as a bartender and manager\u2014into absolute pandemonium. Following their win, the team skated a victory lap holding the jersey of the late player Johnny Gaudreau (who passed away in 2024) and brought his children onto the ice. It was a Hollywood ending and the stuff of genuine national unity.<\/p>\n And here’s what made it even richer: the U.S. women’s team had already done it four days earlier, also beating Canada in overtime. Also winning gold. In the stands for the men’s final were members of that women’s team, there as superfans for their counterparts. By all accounts, the two squads had spent the Olympics genuinely bonding, training and celebrating together.<\/p>\n That is a PR person’s dream. Two golds. One story. Pure unity.<\/p>\n Then FBI Director Kash Patel’s phone rang.<\/p>\n What should have been the easiest story in sports\u2014the U.S. sweeping both Olympic hockey gold medals for the first time in history, became something messier the moment Patel put President Donald Trump on speaker phone in the men’s locker room. The viral clip of players laughing<\/a> at the President’s perceived “joke” that celebrating the women’s team\u2019s victory was a political obligation rather than a point of pride, has been well-documented.<\/p>\n The details matter less than what came next: nothing. USA Hockey has said nothing of substance so far in response to fan reaction from the viral clip<\/a>.<\/p>\n Silence is a Strategy\u2014But Usually the Wrong One<\/strong><\/p>\n In communications, silence is not neutral<\/a>. It is a choice, and it tells a story. Right now, USA Hockey’s silence is quite possibly telling a story that the women’s program\u2014which went undefeated en route to gold\u2014is not worth defending.<\/p>\n That’s a problem that extends well beyond just optics. The Professional Women’s Hockey League<\/a> is in a moment of genuine growth<\/a>, with rising attendance and new fans coming to the women’s game, many of them introduced through this very Olympic cycle. The National Hockey League, meanwhile, has been working to broaden its audience among younger and more diverse fans. A viral moment that signals shows women’s hockey being treated as secondary is exactly the wrong message at exactly the wrong time\u2014and every day without a response from USA Hockey lets that perception harden.<\/p>\n