Former All-American swimmer and conservative political activist Riley Gaines is backing the Olympic gold-winning U.S. men’s hockey team amid criticism following their meeting with President Donald Trump and subsequent appearance at the State of the Union address.
USA Today’s Mary Clarke came under heavy fire this week after writing a column titled, “The USA men’s hockey team utterly failed to meet the cultural moment.” Clarke ripped the team for partying with FBI director Kash Patel and seemingly laughing when Trump joked that he needed to invite the women’s team, which also won gold, or risk facing impeachment by Democrats.
Clarke’s column has since been heavily panned, and she later locked her X account. Gaines was among the more prominent voices to call out Clarke on social media, writing that Clarke and USA Today were “wrong” in their assessment.
“The US Men’s Hockey team did meet the cultural moment,” Gaines wrote. “Successful, patriotic, & united. It’s you who did not.”
You’re wrong, @USATODAY. The US Men’s Hockey team did meet the cultural moment. Successful, patriotic, & united. It’s you who did not. pic.twitter.com/ISahcqdcPG
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) February 25, 2026
Because Clarke has locked her X account, it is unclear whether she had replied to Gaines. As of publication, Clarke had not penned a follow-up story addressing the backlash, and it is unclear whether she will.
Inquisitr News has reached out to Clarke for further comment.
The women’s team declined an invitation to the State of the Union address because of prior commitments. Although Trump said the women’s team would “soon” make a trip to Washington, Team USA has yet to confirm those plans.
“We’re just focusing on celebrating the women in our room, the extraordinary efforts, and continue to celebrate three gold medals in program history as well as the double gold for both men’s and women’s at the same time,” Team USA captain Hilary Knight told ESPN. “And really not detract from that with a distasteful joke.”
USA women’s hockey gold medalist @HilaryKnight describes her team’s relationship with the USA men’s team as one with a “genuine level of support and respect” that’s being overshadowed by a “quick lapse.”
“Our achievements shouldn’t be overshadowed by anything else other than how… pic.twitter.com/0oDaQwQi9B
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 25, 2026
As media members and some netizens continue blasting the men’s team for their interactions with Trump, Patel, and other members of the administration, Gaines has remained a staunch supporter. She regularly shares or reposts pro-men’s team content on her X account, with her posts regularly exceeding 100,000 views.
Gaines notably didn’t hold back when addressing Instagram users who she felt were trying to tell women’s hockey players how they should feel about the men’s team.
“Realize it’s absolutely not normal for grown adults to respond this way,” Gaines commented.
Several Team USA men’s players returned to the ice with their NHL teams on Wednesday night. New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes, who scored the overtime goal over Canada in the gold medal game and lost at least one tooth along the way, received a standing ovation ahead of Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres. Fittingly, fellow U.S. Olympian Tage Thompson scored one of the Sabres’ two goals.
