Great, yet another controversy to overshadow the Olympics.
Despite the fact that both the Team USA men’s and women’s hockey teams won gold medals over Canada at the Olympics – the first time both teams have won gold at the same Winter Olympics and the first time taking home gold in nearly 40 years for the men’s team – most of the conversation since then has surrounded the nonsensical controversy over the men’s team’s phone call with President Donald Trump in the locker room.
I’m sure you know the story so I’m not going to get into it, but despite the controversy the men’s team still went to the White House on Tuesday and appeared to have a great time celebrating their accomplishments with Trump and being honored during the State of the Union address.
Speaking on his visit to the Oval Office, Team USA gold medalist Brady Tkachuk said it was an honor to get the invite to the White House:
“It was special. Being an American citizen, you never really think you’re going to see the White House and be in the Oval Office.”
Though he also admitted it’s a little awkward because he plays for the Ottawa Senators in the NHL:
“It’s just such a passionate fan base. I said this after 4 Nations: It’s a unique feeling when every single day the support from this fan base and then for three weeks they’re not cheering for you. It’s a crazy feeling.
I’ve given absolutely everything I have as an Ottawa Senator. When you represent the U.S., it’s about being an American. It’s an honor. There’s only three teams that ever won the gold medal. I wanted to achieve my childhood dream and bring a gold medal back to the U.S.”
Well the White House certainly didn’t make things easier on him when they shared an AI-generated video on social media that featured Tkachuk mocking Canada.
In the fake video, the Ottawa captain calls Canadians “maple syrup eating f–ks.”
“They booed our national anthem so I had to come out and teach those maple syrup-eating f–ks a lesson. Canada, we own you lil bro.”
@whitehouse Silver does NOT shine just as bright 🥇🦅
But as it turns out, Tkachuk wasn’t amused.
When asked about the video, he made clear that it wasn’t anything he approved or said:
“Well, it’s clearly fake, because it’s not my voice, not my lips moving. I’m not in control of any of those accounts. I know that those words would never come out of my mouth. So, I can’t do anything about it.”
And he admitted he wasn’t exactly a fan of the White House using his likeness to mock Canada without his permission:
“It’s not my voice. It’s not what I was saying. I would never say that. That’s not who I am, so I guess I don’t like that video because that would never come out of my mouth, and never had that thought.”
Honestly, I’m a Trump supporter, voted for him, and have rolled my eyes at all of the controversy surrounding the phone call, but this video of Tkachuk is just completely unnecessary – not because it’s not funny, but because there’s no reason to be posting AI videos of the players and putting them in the middle of everything.
It’s not the first time the Trump administration has been called out for using someone’s image in a video: Comedian Theo Von even called out the Department of Homeland Security for using a clip of him in a video promoting their deportation efforts.
I love that the administration is using social media, and I’m generally a fan of their posts, but when you’re posting AI videos of athletes saying things they didn’t say, it puts them in an awkward spot for no reason.
Let’s just stick to putting sombreros on Hakeem Jeffries from here on out.
