Jack Hughes and the U.S. men’s hockey team are embroiled in controversy after a viral video of their post-win phone call with President Trump circulated online. In the clip, President Trump makes a condescending remark about the U.S. women’s hockey team – who also won the gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina – and none of the players from the men’s team stand up for their female counterparts during the exchange. Instead, they all laughed.
Now Ellen Hughes, mother of Jack Hughes and Quinn Hughes, is speaking out about the controversial remarks heard on the call with President Trump. Ellen Hughes holds the role of Player Development Consultant for the Team USA Women’s Hockey Team, where she is a pillar of promoting women in the traditionally male-dominated sport of ice hockey. After her son, Jack Hughes, scored the winning goal in overtime against Canada for a 2-1 finish that secured the gold medal for the United States, and then the U.S. men’s national team quickly followed their Olympic success with the leaked controversial phone call, Ellen Hughes has spoken out about her beliefs about the situation. Here’s what she has to say.
Ellen Hughes Call For Unity and ‘Synergy’ From U.S. Men and Women
In an interview with Today, Ellen Hughes spoke for the first time since the controversial phone call was leaked, saying that there needs to be “synergy” between the U.S. men’s national ice hockey team and the U.S. women’s national team.
Hughes revealed that there is unity between the two teams already, saying, “If you could see what we see from the inside, and the men and women sharing, you know, dorm rooms and halls and flex floors and the camaraderie and the synergy and the way the women cheered on the men and the way the men cheered on the women — that’s what it’s all about.”
Expanding on the compassion Hughes is urging the public to see in both of Team USA’s hockey squads, she says, “They care about humanity. They care about unity and they care about the country.”
Team USA Athletes Should Be Role Models and Represent All Americans
GettyGold medallists USA’s players celebrate during the medals ceremony of the men’s ice hockey event at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, on February 22, 2026.
The Olympic Games are at their core a diplomatic event that invites nations from all over the world to send delegations of athletes to represent the spirit of their country while they test the limits of human potential. Touching on the role of Team USA’s athletes as diplomats and role models of what it means to be from the United States of America, Ellen Hughes underscored the ability of athletes like those from the U.S. hockey teams to bring people together.
“At the end of the day, it’s just about the country. These players, both the men and women, can bring so much unity to a group and to a country. People that cheered on that don’t watch hockey, people that have politics on one side or on the other side, and that’s all both the men’s team and the women’s team care about,” she says.
Jack Hughes’ Mom, Women’s Hockey Legend Ellen Hughes, Speaks Out About Derogatory Comments