U.S. hockey teams win gold, face unequal attention

At the 2026 Winter Olympics, both the U.S. men’s and women’s ice hockey teams each defeated Canada, earning their gold medals and marking the first time both teams have won gold in the same Olympics.

Despite both winning gold medals, there has been growing frustration over the greater respect and attention given to the U.S. Men’s Hockey Team over the U.S. Women’s Hockey Team.

Victoria L. Jackson, PhD, Sports Historian and Association Clinical Professor at ASU, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss more about these wins and the controversy surrounding them.

A viral video clip surfaced online of President Donald Trump speaking with the Men’s team right after they had won their gold medal. President Trump received criticism for the remarks he made about the Women’s team visiting the White House to celebrate.

“This is a team that understood that they completed the sweep for the first time in history,” Jackson said, “…I think these teams have equal respect for each other.”

Jackson explained that these female athletes not only have to go and compete, but also have to create a learning experience out of it all.

“We’ve seen generations of athletes in women’s sports take on the responsibility of educating the public about the awesomeness of women in sport,” Jackson discussed, “…this is another one of those moments.”

Jackson emphasized the crucial role the media plays in sports and how it has evolved, as different women’s sports media outlets are getting bigger opportunities.

“I think that stuff matters because it’s naturalizing and normalizing that we’re all playing sports,” Jackson said, “…it’s not men’s sports, and then the women came later…we’re all here playing now…I’m very optimistic about the future, and again, these are outlier moments. These are relics of the past.”

The United States will host the next summer Olympics in 2028 in Los Angeles.