J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings
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(Photo by Ellen Schmidt/Getty Images)
Minnesota Vikings quarterback JJ McCarthy has his starting job and the future of his NFL career to worry about this offseason, but that did not stop him from weighing in on the current sports culture war happening around Team USA Hockey.
McCarthy made a post to X on Wednesday, February 25 one day after the gold medal-winning group attended the State of the Union Address as guests of speaker President Donald Trump.
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The post, which is actually a repost from another X user, shows a photograph of Team USA Hockey players — and brothers — Jack Hughes and Quinn Hughes, along with their parents, making an obscene gesture toward the camera in unison. Some respondents in the comments section questioned the authenticity of the photograph and suggested it may be AI-generated.
The caption on the post was “hUgheSA,” while the caption on the photo itself was “Don’t Care.”
Phone Call Between Team USA Hockey, President Donald Trump After Gold Medal Win Sparked Controversy
President Donald Trump
GettyPresident of the United States Donald Trump.
The context of the photograph began last weekend, when Team USA Hockey captured its first gold medal in 46 years at the Winter Olympics in Italy.
The victory soon took on a political flavor after Bill Guerin, the team’s general manager, invited FBI Director Kash Patel into the locker room to celebrate with the players.
Patel called the president from his personal phone, during which Trump congratulated the group on their win over vaunted Team Canada and invited them to join him at the State of the Union Address on Tuesday night.
During the call, the president and Team USA engaged in a back and forth described by Rebecca Cohen and Allan Smith of NBC News:
“Trump then joked that if he did not invite the women’s team — which also beat Team Canada in overtime to win the gold days before — ‘I do believe I probably would be impeached,'” Cohen and Smith wrote. “The men roared in laughter.”
Jack Hughes Downplayed Incident Involving Team USA Hockey, Donald Trump
Jack Hughes
GettyJack Hughes of Team USA Hockey.
Criticism of the interaction, which some objectors described as disrespectful and misogynistic toward the women’s team, swiftly followed.
Jack Hughes, who scored the winning goal in overtime to defeat Team Canada, responded to the criticism he and his teammates faced while speaking with reporters in Miami outside of a nightclub the following evening.
“People are so negative out there, and they are trying to find a reason to put people down and make something out of almost nothing,” he said, per The Athletic. “I think everyone in that locker room knows how much we support [the women’s team], how proud we are of them.”
Despite Hughes’ assertion that the president’s joke and the response from he and his teammates was overblown, McCarthy caught shade in the comments section of his repost for clearly picking a side in what is the latest topic in the ongoing Trump/sports culture war that stretches back to his first term and the controversy around NFL players kneeling during the national anthem.
“Rude,” one person commented on the photo McCarthy reposted. “Also fake.”
Another X user referenced rumors that the Vikings will reunite with Kirk Cousins to replace McCarthy as QB1 next season.
“Horrible photo shop attempt,” that user wrote. “Stay Kirk’d.”
“JJ is a real [bleep],” a third person commented. “Who knew? 🤷♀️🙄”
However, there were also commenters who supported McCarthy’s position.
“Love my QB,” one person responded.
“This is gonna piss a lot of people off,” another said. “Real or fake. Amazing.”