First Mexican-American to Win Olympic Men’s Hockey Gold Hit the White House. The Internet is Spiraling
Auston Matthews made history during the 2026 Winter Olympics as the first Mexican-American to win gold for hockey. While the U.S. men’s hockey team is mired in controversy, it is still worth acknowledging history when it happens. The victory that ended the men’s hockey team’s gold medal drought was more than a win. It was a moment of representation.
Team USA Captain Auston Matthews is a historical figure
The hockey player is the captain for the Toronto Maple Leafs and made history at the Winter Olympics in Milan. The Mexican-American hockey player led Team USA to a gold medal for the first time since 1980. The victory cemented Auston Matthews as a top global player in hockey.
He isn’t the first Latino or Mexican-American to represent our community at the Olympic level. He is, however, the first one to take home the gold. It is a moment of representation in a place where Latinos get so little representation. Hockey is an overwhelmingly white sport, with 83 percent of players being white. Auston Matthews taking home gold is a special moment for the community.
“It’s been a pretty whirlwind 72 hours, to be honest,” Matthews told The New York Times. “It was an incredible experience from start to finish. Just being able to go over there and be an Olympian and represent and be in that atmosphere and from the village to the games and just all the amazing things that happened over the last couple of weeks, I feel very grateful to have been a part of that. And then obviously to win a gold medal is truly very special.”
Unfortunately, his win has been caught up in social media drama
Shortly after the win, a video went viral of the USA men’s hockey team celebrating with FBI Director Kash Patel. The video showed Patel chugging a beer and screaming in the locker room. Then, the team broke into a rendition of Toby Keith’s “Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (The Angry American).” Keith, who died on Feb. 5, 2024, has a long career history of racist and xenophobic lyrics.
Matthews pushed back against the backlash over Team USA’s men’s hockey team accepting an invitation to the White House. For Matthews, attending a White House meeting with the president is something teams do because they are proud to be Americans. The backlash is multi-layered. Along with the general discontent by fans with the Trump administration, the men’s hockey team was caught on camera laughing when President Donald Trump joked that he would get “impeached” if he didn’t also invite the women’s hockey team.
“To me, I don’t like to get political or get into that kind of stuff,” Matthews told The New York Times. “Like I said, we’re proud Americans and winning a gold medal, it’s been 46 years since the men’s ice hockey team has done that. Hopefully, something like this will hopefully bring more unity to the country and stuff like that.”
The USA men’s hockey team has been the center of controversy almost immediately after winning the gold medal. Social media is filled with people making jokes about the McDonald’s celebratory dinner at the White House. The publicity campaign, which started with the Hughes twins’ mom on the TODAY show, to minimize the damage, has been unsuccessful at best.
Meanwhile, the women’s hockey team was treated to a fine dining experience with Stanley Tucci in Italy and declined the invitation from the White House.
