On Feb. 19, during the Winter Olympics, the US women’s ice hockey team took home the gold medal, just days before the US men’s ice hockey team mirrored this victory and won the gold medal themselves on Feb. 22. Both games were a 2-1 overtime win against the Canadian women’s and men’s ice hockey teams, respectively.

Following their victory—the first gold in men’s ice hockey since 1980—the US men’s ice hockey team was invited to Washington D.C. in a phone call with President Donald Trump for the State of the Union address and a celebration in the Oval Office on Feb. 24. Most of the men’s team flew to D.C. for the invitation, transported on a military plane arranged by Trump.

In a video of the phone call, Trump was heard saying, “I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team. You do know that,” continuing with comments about being “impeached” if he didn’t invite the women’s team to the Oval Office. The women’s team declined the subsequent invitation, citing timing and previous commitments that conflicted with the scheduling of the celebration.

In recent years, politics has become increasingly prevalent in American sports culture with attention towards athletes’ political stances. However, this intersection has roots beyond the current polarization of the country. The influence of American sports on the culture of the United States and its resulting connection to national pride and nationalism has made it a popular place for rising political tensions and opinions.

Many of the men’s hockey players expressed remorse for Trump’s comments, stating that they have nothing but support and respect for the women’s hockey team. They emphasized that the men’s and women’s hockey teams have strong personal relationships and that they regret their reactions during the night of the celebrations.

“I think it’s a little bit unfortunate how it’s taken the shine away from, one, the greatness of the women’s team and what we did [in being the] first (men’s) team to win it in 46 years,” said Dylan Larkin, a member of the US men’s ice hockey team.

Other members of the team have stated that they view the White House invite as a celebration of the Olympic victory, a symbol of national pride rather than a political statement, amid the rampant media attention surrounding the comments and their response. The players who opted out of the celebration gave reasons mainly concerning being prepared for the busy second half of the National Hockey League season and inconvenient timing with personal schedules.