The Olympics are over but not the drama.

In case you haven’t heard, the U.S. women won ice hockey gold! Then the men won. Who did the president speak to as they celebrated? The men. He invited them to the State of the Union address, adding, per USA Today (and, well, everyone), “I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that?” He added, jokingly, “I do believe I probably would be impeached” if he didn’t invite the women’s team.

Forgive for a  moment my mentioning the looooong list of high crimes and misdemeanors committed by this president and his administration. I hardly think insulting women, again, will be what brings him down.

And there you have it. Well, no. There’s more.

Judith Dayal points out (link below), “For the sixth straight Olympics, U.S. women have won more gold medals than the men….And still the reflex centers the men first. Still the phone call goes to them.”

The men tried to explain, in the category of not knowing when to shut up. From ESPN and other outlets:

“Everyone is giving us backlash for all the social media stuff today. People are so negative out there, and they are just trying to find a reason to put people down and make something out of almost nothing,” Jack Hughes said in an interview outside of E11EVEN Miami, where the team celebrated its victory Monday.

“I’m glad you mentioned the women’s team again; we’re extremely happy for them. There’s a lot going on with social media right now surrounding our team and their team. But in the last couple of summers, we did a lot of training with them and got to know a lot of those girls really well,” Quinn Hughes said.

Did you catch that? In 2026, women—sorry, girls—are nothing. Maybe the progress is “almost nothing.”

For what it’s worth, defender Rory Guilday survived cancer, losing her sight in one eye. And forward Kendall Coyne Schofield is a mom to a toddler. She told Women’s Health in 2024, “I never wanted my son to think he was the reason I would stop playing.” And the team has several out queer players. Fiction aside, per Outsports.com, the NHL has…none (and that’s where all the Olympic men’s team members come from).

But back to, you know, sports!

I’ve watched figure skating since Peggy Fleming. I’ve never seen anything like Alysa Liu. Not to take anything away from the other skaters, many had me in tears of joy for their performances, especially when they realized how well they’d skated even if they had no chance for a medal.

Knowing Alysa’s story, child prodigy to burned out teen to reinvented young woman, not only makes it sweeter but also sadder.

What does it say about how we train young skaters? Viewers like me don’t see the sausage making, the years of sacrifice, the injuries, the self-doubt. We only see how that plays out in the pressure cooker that is the Olympics. Nerves turning knees to jelly, the falls, the tears.

Why?

There were distinct differences in those who skated for themselves and those who skated for…someone or something else. Family honor, their country, a medal. Alysa has said she used to skate for her father, now she skates for herself.

A Japanese skater cried with regret when his performance led to a team silver. An Italian skater cried with joy when his performance led to a team bronze. A visibly stunned Kazakh skater won men’s gold with a beautiful performance.

The entire family dynamic can play out on an ice rink. A metaphor for all families, all young people struggling to grow and mature. Bodies change from tiny bullets spinning effortlessly to fleshed out females finding a new center of gravity (literally and figuratively), often failing. Or succeeding spectacularly.

An entire nation’s political dynamic can also play out on an ice rink (or in the locker room after). A metaphor for its people, struggling to be happy and successful, and equal, in what was once considered the greatest nation on Earth.

For more:

A terrific essay by Judith Dayal, “Trump’s Comment About the Women’s Hockey Team, the Men’s Laughter, and the Power of Refusal”

Netflix has a gripping documentary, Miracle: The Boys of ’80. Back when the Olympics were supposed to be for amateurs, this men’s hockey team was made up of nonprofessional players beating the very professional Soviet team (and then Finland for gold), stunning the world. And while you know the ending, there are plenty of surprises along the way.

Photo grabbed from https://teamusa.usahockey.com/2026olympicwomenroster