What happened
After the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan–Cortina, Team USA’s men’s hockey team won gold (over Canada) and then did something that used to be normal:
they went to the White House and attended the State of the Union as honored guests.
They were recognized in the chamber and received a long, bipartisan ovation.
The U.S. women’s hockey team also won gold (also over Canada) and was invited to the State of the Union, but declined—citing academic and professional commitments and timing.
That’s the factual core.
Everything else is interpretation—and in 2026, interpretation is where people lose their minds.
The real fight isn’t hockey. It’s what counts as “acceptable” civic behavior now.
The comment you’re reacting to (and why it’s a tell)
“Performative patriotism and giving validity to a broken system is not the way.”
This is the modern activist script in one sentence:
If you show up to a civic tradition, it’s “performative.”
If you participate in institutions, you’re “validating” a “broken system.”
If you don’t play along, you’re not just wrong—you’re morally suspect.
It’s not an argument. It’s an excommunication.
And notice the move: it doesn’t engage the substance (national unity, civic tradition, representing Team USA). It labels your motive and declares the entire system illegitimate. Once someone does that, there’s no standard left except tribal loyalty.
Why people are sick of this
Because it’s exhausting to watch national moments get treated like partisan crime scenes.
A team wins for the United States, and instead of letting it be a unifying moment, the country immediately gets dragged back into the culture war:
“If you go to the White House, you’re a prop.”
“If you attend the SOTU, you’re endorsing corruption.”
“If you don’t snub the president, you’re ‘normalizing’ him.”
That’s not civic maturity. That’s political neurosis.
And it isn’t new. After the 2018 Olympics, multiple high-profile athletes skipped the traditional White House reception due to political disagreements or “conflicts,” and it became yet another proxy battle over who is allowed to be recognized as “morally acceptable.”
Here’s the part people pretend not to understand
Going to the White House as an Olympic champion is not the same thing as endorsing a president’s platform.
That’s the adult distinction:
Country vs. candidate
Civic ritual vs. campaign rally
“I’m here as a champion” vs. “I’m here as a surrogate”
The men’s team didn’t show up to sign onto an agenda. They showed up because they won gold for the United States and got invited to a national event.
If you can’t separate those categories, everything becomes propaganda—including your own refusal to participate.
And that refusal? That’s the part that’s often truly performative.
About the women’s team declining
Let’s be fair: the women’s team did not announce, “We hate the president.” They cited commitments.
That could be completely true.
But in the real world—where optics are part of public life—declining an SOTU invitation is going to be interpreted as political unless you go out of your way to make it unmistakably not political.
If you don’t want it read as a snub, the clean play is simple:
“We can’t attend Tuesday, but we’d be honored to visit the White House on X date.”
“We’ll send a small delegation.”
“We appreciate the invitation and we’re coordinating a schedule.”
That’s not groveling. That’s basic PR competence in a climate where everyone’s looking for a fight.
The bigger issue: “Broken system” is a convenient excuse for selective civics
“Broken system” has become a magic phrase people use to justify any behavior that would otherwise look petty, rude, or tribal.
And it’s usually selective.
If the “system” is broken all the time—fine. Make that case consistently. Explain what’s broken, what you want replaced, and how you plan to get there without elections and institutions.
But if it’s “broken” only when your side loses—and suddenly “participation” is immoral—that’s not principle. That’s partisanship wearing moral makeup.
If the standard becomes “I only recognize civic traditions when I approve of the current president,” then we’ve basically admitted we don’t have civic traditions anymore. We have rituals of dominance: your tribe celebrates, the other tribe refuses.
Some people openly argue that proximity to Trump is never neutral and that teams should avoid being used as props.
That’s a viewpoint.
But it still doesn’t erase the civic reality: a national champion being honored by the head of state is a normal feature of constitutional democracies. The correct solution to “don’t use athletes as props” is not “make everything a snub.”
The solution is: keep it brief, keep it respectful, keep it about the team, and move on.
This is why your original reaction lands with normal Americans
Because most people still live in the commonsense world where:
winning for Team USA is bigger than partisan identity,
showing up for a civic honor isn’t a pledge of allegiance to a political platform, and the constant demand to “snub” is the actual performance.
The “performative patriotism” crowd wants to shame normal civic behavior as fake—while treating their own refusal as heroic resistance.
That’s upside-down.
What I’d say to the “performative patriotism” claim, plainly:
If you think recognizing Olympic champions at the White House is “validating a broken system,” then your issue isn’t with the athletes. Your issue is with the idea of shared institutions at all.
And if your first response is “I can’t wait to see you taken apart in the comments,” that tells everyone exactly what you’re here for: not persuasion—punishment.
That’s not politics. That’s a social-media mob in a costume.
Why This Matters
We don’t have many nonpartisan civic rituals left. If we turn the last few into loyalty tests, the country gets colder, meaner, and more tribal—fast.
Athletes shouldn’t be forced into political signaling to prove they’re “good people.”
If “broken system” becomes a blanket excuse to reject anything you don’t like, you don’t end up with reform—you end up with permanent contempt and zero cohesion.
You can oppose a president and still respect the office, the voters, and the country. That distinction is what adults keep alive.
References
Associated Press. (2026, February 24). US men’s hockey team feted at State of the Union; Trump says women’s team will be honored “soon.”
The Washington Post. (2026, February 24). U.S. men’s hockey team to be at State of the Union “somehow, some way.”
People. (2026, February 25). U.S. Men’s Hockey Team shakes hands with Trump in the Oval Office before attending State of the Union.
Time. (2018, May 1). Why Adam Rippon, Lindsey Vonn and more Winter Olympics stars skipped the White House visit with Trump.
The Guardian. (2026, February 25). The US men’s hockey team at the State of the Union showed proximity to Trump is never neutral.
Disclaimer:
The views expressed in this post are opinions of the author for educational and commentary purposes only. They are not statements of fact about any individual or organization, and should not be construed as legal, medical, or financial advice. References to public figures and institutions are based on publicly available sources cited in the article. Any resemblance beyond these references is coincidental.
