NYT runs hit piece on US Olympic gold medal hockey heroes because Trump

The New York Times had the audacity to crap all over the Olympic gold medal winning United State's men's hockey team. That's right, the Times took aim at Team USA all 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 on Tuesday night.

Writing for the Times, Jerry Brewer said that while at first the Team USA win felt great and brought people together, that it was reminiscent of the "Miracle on Ice" when the US team beat the Russian team, "by the next day, it didn't." The only thing that changed was that FBI Director Kash Patel was there to celebrate with the team in Italy too and the team was stoked when they took the call from Trump.

"In normal times," Brewer write, "this would be an obligatory celebration for a championship team... But this isn't a neutral climate. This isn't a neutral president. And in a nation this polarized, the proximity carries weight whether the players are being intentional or merely naive.

"America no longer experiences these rituals in the same way," Brewer said, "and it may never again. Athletes would be wise to recognize that, in this climate, celebration is easily repurposed into political capital."

After complaining that the country just isn't normal anymore because Trump, Brewer lays into the players, saying they lack a "shrewd political instinct," and that this caused them to screw up and show respect to the president, his office, and to bask in the nationalist, patriotic glow of winning for their country. Brewer said "they narrowed their moment... And some of their goodwill has diminished."

The issue for Brewer is that he believes the players are being used as unwitting pawns in the craven game of national politics. In so doing, he points out that "The burden of representing the stars and stripes isn’t just to win. It is to amplify the best of us, to show what unites us. Victory isn’t just about the accomplishment; it’s about the striving that preceded it."

Which is actually exactly what Team USA did. They won. They won for their country. They praised the troops, they said they were thrilled to represent the United States. And when the leader of our nation asked them to join him, they answered that call. 

But Brewer, and so many others who freaked out online, would have preferred that Team USA slam the phone in Trump's face because they hate Trump more than they love America. Brewer's final claim is that Team USA's "historic triumph must compete for attention with their reckless after-party." 

The fact of the matter is, however, that while Brewer and his ilk find the young men's celebration distasteful, so many other Americans, probably somewhere greater than half, find their spirit, success, and sportsmanship admirable, fun, and jubilant. The most divisive thing following Team USA's win are all the naysayers and Trump haters who think their political bias is more important than a patriotic, unabashed, hard fought win.