Sports and politics have once again collided – this time at the Winter Olympics and Trump’s State of the Union address. And at least two opposing “teams” have developed, each with their own heroes and villains.
To some, the gold medal-winning US women’s hockey players are heroes, and the gold-medal US men’s hockey players are villains, mostly because of their post-victory celebration with FBI Director Kash Patel and phone call with President Donald Trump. Others believe that anti-American or anti-masculine sentiments have unfairly targeted the men’s team.
To some, gold medal-winning Chinese American skier Eileen Gu is a hero, having become the most decorated free skier in Olympic history and a biracial woman in a sport historically dominated by white people. To others, she doesn’t deserve praise in the US because of her choice to compete for China instead of the US.
At the root of the divide is a debate over national pride: what it means to be American, what patriotism looks like, what’s expected of athletes, and where the lines are drawn.
On the Left
Vox (Left bias) published the “Winners” and “Losers” of the Olympic Gold Medalists. Gu was a “winner,” and the men’s hockey team was a “loser.”
Similarly, The New York Times (Lean Left) and its sports outlet, The Athletic, framed Gu positively while criticizing the men’s hockey team.
From @TheAthletic: Eileen Gu was the highest earner at the 2026 Winter Olympics. "The scientist, politician, skier, model, and student is like a magician, the audience dazzled by her mastery but somewhat irked by how she does it," our columnist writes.https://t.co/1QthOfHQYJ
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 24, 2026
It’s nice to be feted as a winner, as the U.S. men's Olympic hockey team has been.
But who’s celebrating you – and why they’re doing it – matters more.
Athletes would be wise to recognize that, in this climate, celebration is easily repurposed into political capital. pic.twitter.com/Bk7HT3O3hg— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) February 24, 2026
From @TheAthletic: "The U.S. men’s hockey team won Olympic gold for the first time since the 'Miracle on Ice' 46 years ago, and for a time, the joy belonged to everyone," our columnist writes. "By the next day, it didn’t." https://t.co/CEEywvfRYe pic.twitter.com/zMilXntHnF
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 24, 2026
An NBC News (Lean Left) article titled, “Trump ignites culture war around U.S. hockey gold medal winners,” reports that footage of the men’s team celebrating and talking to Trump on the phone after the game “spurred outrage online, prompting a cascade of negativity toward the men’s team, members of which appeared quick to diss their female teammates to agree with Trump.”
In that video, Trump is heard joking that he’d be “impeached” if he didn’t also invite the women’s hockey team to the White House, which was met with laughter by some of the players.
HuffPost (Left) described a video of the team returning to the US after their win, suggesting their friendliness with Trump had harmed their public image:
“The video shows the team, many of them donning gold medals, walking into the airport and waving to a crowd. But what makes the video truly cringey is that very few people are cheering for them — you can hear a single person yell “Woo!” followed by an awkward clap and a beat of silence.”
In light of Trump’s comments, which some women and people on the left found derogatory towards the female athletes, outlets on the left also tended to highlight women’s wins overall at the Olympic games. Some noted that female olympians from the US took home six gold medals and 17 medals overall, while male olympians won four gold medals and 12 overall, making this the third straight Winter Olympics in which female athletes have taken home the most wins.
The Guardian (Left) quoted Hilary Knight, the captain of the US women’s hockey team and two-time Olympic gold medalist, discussing what she described as Trump’s “distasteful joke.” Knight said, “I think this is a really good learning point to focus on how we talk about women, not only in sport but in industry. Women aren’t less than. Our achievements shouldn’t be overshadowed by anything else other than how great they are.”
USA Today (Lean Left) attributed women’s wins, including the women's hockey team gold medal, to the passage of Title IX in 1972. CBS News (Lean Left) also highlighted these stats in a segment on CBS Mornings.
On the Right
While media on the left framed Olympics coverage around a Trump-critical message, media on the right lamented left-leaning coverage and emphasized patriotism.
Fox News (Right) accused the New York Times of running a “hit piece,” saying the article wrongfully celebrated “China-competing Eileen Gu while scolding US hockey team over Trump visit.”
The Post Millennial (Right) criticized the Times for having “the audacity to crap all over the Olympic gold medal winning United State's [sic] men's hockey team” because “the men took a call from President Donald Trump and accepted his invitation to be his guest at the State of the Union address.”
Another Fox News (Right) piece highlighted voices who called Gu “insufferable” and said “It’s kinda funny that a communist country would pay a woman to be propaganda as a capitalist.”
When I was growing up in the 1980s, If an American-born-and-raised athlete had taken millions of dollars to compete for the Soviet Union in the Olympics, there would have been no question of numerous media puff-pieces like this-- the only question would be whether he/she could… https://t.co/f955NUySva
— Jeremy Carl (@realJeremyCarl) February 24, 2026
Breitbart (Right) reported in a headline, “U.S.-Born Eileen Gu Proudly Sings Chinese Communist Anthem.” The piece linked to an embedded post on X which provides a translation of the anthem: “Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves! With our flesh and blood, let us build a new Great Wall! As China faces its greatest peril From each one the urgent call to action comes forth.” The poster then added, “so American.”
When not focused on Gu and purported media bias from the left, many on the right praised the men’s hockey players and criticized media portrayals of them. Some on the right also chided athletes who criticized the Trump administration and then fell short in their competitions.
Fox highlighted the standing ovation the hockey team received at the State of the Union and focused on some of the players’ remarks about American pride.
“Most of the complaints about the hockey team's willingness to interact with President Trump are just gussied-up attacks on pluralism,” argued Charles CW Cooke (Right) of National Review (Right).
One headline from Outkick (Lean Right) smirked that “USA Athletes Who Ripped America Didn't Perform Very Well During Olympics.”
Aggregate Bias Analysis From the AllSides Team
In today’s polarized media landscape, even Olympic gold medals can be refracted through a partisan lens.
And as news outlets continue to prioritize charged narratives, the “purity” of sport is increasingly eclipsed by the “politics” of identity, leaving viewers to navigate a world where the medalist podium is just another battlefield in the ongoing culture wars.
So, what does patriotism and success look like in the Olympics? To some, it’s as simple as winning. To others, there’s an expectation that athletes should use their stage to speak out on important issues and be mindful of how their performance and actions may be used to political ends.
Of course, there’s no “right” answer. But understanding the vastly different answers people may offer to that question can help readers identify bias and political narratives in sports coverage and other places where you might not expect to encounter them.
Henry A. Brechter is the editor-in-chief of AllSides. He has a Center bias.
Research, reviews, and edits by:
Malayna J. Bizier, news and bias analyst (Right)
Emily Allen, news and bias analyst (Left)
Gabe Spathelf, content intern (Center)
Andy Gorel, managing editor (Center)
.png.webp)
