“This was a zoo. They were the monkeys.”
The Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail referred to members of the Team USA Olympic hockey squad as “monkeys” in a column published after their gold medal victory over Canada and appearance at President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address.
“It was only as they filed into the chamber inside Washington’s Capitol building on Tuesday night – surrounded by hooting politicians – that it seemed to occur to Team USA what they had gotten themselves into,” the piece began. “This was a zoo. They were the monkeys.”
The article went on to argue that the hockey players were used as “props” during Trump’s address. It also singled out Connor Hellebuyck and Auston Matthews, both of whom play for Canadian teams in the NHL, claiming they will “never live it down.”
“Matthews made things worse by showing up at the White House during the day, but skipping the State of the Union address at night,” it continued, “It shows that he got how it looked, and tried to finesse his way through it. Sadly for many NHLers, they don’t teach finessing in high school. If you watch the video carefully – around the time the players are being encouraged to pump their fists and chant ‘U-S-A’ – you can see recognition dawning on a few faces. That whatever this is, it is not aggrandizing. It was a terrible idea. The whole thing. They could’ve just gone to a night club for three days and had everyone’s phone confiscated at the door, but ooohhhh no, someone had to get ambitious.”
The criticism followed Team USA’s gold medal win against Canada at the Olympics, a victory that was widely celebrated by American fans. Video circulated on social media after the game showing Trump calling the team during their celebration to invite them to attend the White House and the State of the Union, with the president sounding enthusiastic during the call and praising their performance on the world stage.
