Keith Olbermann’s Latest Meltdown: Smears USA Men’s Hockey Team As ‘Misogynists’
Keith Olbermann somehow managed to sink lower than expected.
While 330 million Americans were losing their voices cheering for a "Miracle on Ice 2.0," Keith Olbermann was alone in a room, white-knuckling his smartphone and praying for a reason to be miserable.
In the euphoric aftermath of one of the greatest triumphs in American sports, the U.S. men's hockey team's 2-1 overtime victory over Canada secured Olympic gold for the first time since 1980.
Team USA poses for a photograph after the medal ceremony. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Team USA earned every cheer, every headline, and every ounce of praise that followed. From living rooms to sports bars to social media timelines, Americans celebrated the young men who wore Red, White, and Blue and delivered when it mattered most.
Moments after the final buzzer, President Trump placed a congratulatory phone call to the men’s team in their locker room.
During the call, Trump praised their performance and invited them to attend the State of the Union and visit the White House.
The president also extended the invitation to the women’s team, who ultimately decided not to attend, claiming it was due to scheduling conflicts and other obligations.
Enter the predictably bitter and increasingly unhinged Keith Olbermann, who turned a gold-medal celebration into a partisan grievance aimed squarely at the men's hockey team and the president.
Olbermann called the men "misogynistic" for not immediately declining an invitation to the State of the Union, effectively reprimanding them for their American pride:
"It’s official: US Gold Winning Olympic Hockey team declined invitation to be political props for Trump at the SOTU tomorrow. The women, that is. The men are still too stupid, self-absorbed and misogynistic to realize that going, will stick to them permanently."
TV Personality Keith Olbermann. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
Olbermann’s logic is as warped as it is predictable: To him, the only way for men to respect women is to snub the President of the United States.
It’s a special kind of Olympic-level mental gymnastics.
To any rational sports fan, the invite to Team USA hockey made all the sense in the world. To proud Americans, it was the moment of a lifetime. The team had just won gold, and the president congratulated them.
For Olbermann, there was no analysis and no attempt at fairness.
Just an immediate rush to insult the very athletes who had just represented their country at the highest level.
Jack Hughes celebrates after Team USA's gold-medal win. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
His reaction proved, yet again, to be a revealing display of intellectual rot. The product of a mindset that cannot process American success without filtering it through partisan resentment.
On the flip side were the proud American players. Late-game hero Jack Hughes said what millions of fans were feeling:
"This is all about our country right now. I love the USA... We're so proud to be Americans." Matthew Tkachuk was equally direct: "It was an honor hearing from the President of the United States."
That is the contrast. Inside the team, there was pride and gratitude. From Olbermann, there was only blind, idiotic rage.
And at its core, his stance is anti-sports.
Sports remain one of the few arenas where Americans of every background can stand for the anthem, cheer the same jersey, and celebrate the same win.
To attack them for accepting congratulations from the sitting president says far more about the critic than it does about the athletes.
Gold medalists Quinn Hughes and Jack Hughes. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
What remains now of Olbermann's online carcass feels repetitive and almost farcical. Olbermann's mental decline, frankly, is hard to miss.
The men’s team, meanwhile, stands as a reminder of what American sports still represent.
They faced a rival in the Canadians, rose to the occasion, and carried their country onto the ice, honoring their flag with the opportunity of a lifetime.
The gold is secure, the pride belongs to the country that cheered them on and the meltdown belongs to Olbermann alone.
Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela