Trump’s call to USA Olympic team is perfect example of how men keep failing women

The US men’s ice hockey team made history over the weekend, beating Canada to win gold for the first time in 46 years.

But the victory has been marred for many by upsetting antics after the match. 

The team celebrated the win by drinking beers in the locker room with FBI director Kash Patel – a move which has raised more than a few eyebrows – but it’s their congratulatory call with President Donald Trump that has really sparked outrage.

A video of the call has gone viral, in which Trump can be heard making a joke at the expense of the US women’s ice hockey team. He invites the men to his upcoming State of the Union address, then says he’ll also have to invite the US women’s hockey team or risk being ‘impeached’.

Roaring laughter fills the room after this ‘joke’, with some of the players seen laughing so hard they double over in amusement. 

Unsurprisingly, women haven’t found it very funny. On social media, many claimed they’re ‘disgusted’ and ‘feel sick’ over the men’s reaction to Trump mocking the gold-medal-winning women.

An X user known as @SarahIronside6 said: ‘Woman from the USA dominated in the Winter Olympics, but the USA men’s hockey team was filmed laughing at Trump’s grossly misogynistic joke, degrading the accomplishments of women. These men are a f***ing disgrace to their country and the women in their lives.’

Similarly, @_shireenahmed_ wrote: ‘The USA men’s hockey team won an incredible game. No doubt. But they went on to participate in insulting their women counterparts with Trump in a manner that was cheap and vulgar. A blasted shame and wasted opportunity that could have inspired and sparked joy.’

And @melissakchan adds: ‘Most, though not all of the US men’s hockey team laughing when Trump jokes (?) he’s only begrudgingly inviting the gold medal women’s hockey team. Yeah, every effing woman sees this. What a disgraceful way to become the biggest losers less than 24 hours after victory.’

Others weren’t surprised at all by this behaviour, with Dr Finn Mackay, a feminist activist and senior sociology lecturer from the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), saying the call highlights just how ‘normal’ and ‘commonplace’ sexism and exclusion are.

‘Nobody [on the call] missed a beat, nobody paused. It was absolutely unthinkable that anyone would have an issue; the chat was unscripted, unplanned, un-thought out, and nobody had a problem with it. This shows us the everyday way that sexism and exclusion work. It’s unremarkable, it’s commonplace.

‘The President made the joke demeaning and excluding the women’s team, in professional sport where women athletes are already and historically and currently demeaned, excluded, seen as lesser, and this conversation just added to all that.’

Dr Mackay continues to say that the conversation will most likely be written off by many as just ‘being banter’ and the men will be excused for being ‘caught up in the moment’ after their win.

And this does seem to be the way things are going to play out.

Jack Hughes, a Team USA hockey player, has already tried to sweep the incident under the rug, saying that people are just ‘making something out of almost nothing’.

Dr Daniel Gray, a sociology lecturer at UWE Bristol, who specialises in gender relations, was disappointed by this response.

‘We would hope that they would feel some camaraderie for their female peers, which would have made them react differently, rather than just hooting and laughing along while Trump was so misogynistic,’ he says.

‘We might ask why they would interact with Trump in the first place, given what we all know about his political and personal harms to women and many other groups. In this sense, the women’s team, women fans of the sport, and women in general could be said to have been insulted twice by these particular men.’

So, what should men do if they come across misogyny in the wild?

The obvious answer here is don’t laugh at the joke.

Dr Nicole Graham, a lecturer in ethics and values at King’s College London, explains: ‘The absence of laughter is an outward indication of disapproval, a refusal to accept the norms presupposed in the joke, yet when people – like the men’s hockey team – laugh along it can feel like they are endorsing the sentiments of the joke… even if this is not their intention.’

And you’re not off the hook if you stand by and don’t say anything. To do so is to passively participate in sexism and misogyny, and you’re failing women in the process.

Calling out poor behaviour when you see it, and trying to educate others, is the only way we’re ever going to bring about any kind of change.

‘Studies have also shown that when men raise concerns with sexist humour, this is more likely to lead to behavioural changes in the joke-teller,’ Dr Graham continues.

‘If the joke-teller is more likely to respond to feedback from a man than a woman, it could be suggestive of the fact that the sexist undertones in the joke are much more deeply present in their everyday thinking – it was never just a joke.’

Womankind, a charity that works to support women’s rights organisations, has shared ‘useful tactics’ online for calling out sexism directly. They advise:

• Don’t validate a sexist comment with a laugh. By laughing, you’re saying ‘this is ok with me’.
• Don’t just let it pass. It’s not always easy to say something, but if it’s safe to do so, challenge the use of sexist language.
• Ask questions. What did they mean by that? Why was it funny? Why did they feel the need to refer to the person’s gender?
• Remind them of their better self. Would they have said that if they were in a different setting?
• Express outright disapproval, saying something like: ‘I didn’t like what you said, and I don’t think it’s funny.’
• Know your boundaries. If this turns into a debate, recognise your own limits and don’t feel guilty for shutting down a conversation.

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