Members of the U.S. men's hockey team will be visiting with President Trump and attending the State of the Union on Tuesday night.
"Everything is so political. We're athletes. We're so proud to represent the U.S. and we get the chance to go to the White House, meet the president. You know, we're proud to be Americans," Jack Hughes, who scored the game-winning goal, told the Daily Mail. "No matter what your views are, we're super excited to go."
Hughes added: "Everyone is giving us backlash for all the social media stuff today. People are so negative out there and they are just trying to find a reason to put people down and make something out of almost nothing."
President Trump, meanwhile, is excited to be welcoming the U.S. men's team. The U.S. women's team was invited, too, though they couldn't attend due to scheduling conflicts.
"We’re giving the State of the Union speech on Tuesday night," President Trump said in a phone call with the USA players. "I could send a military plane or something, but if you would like to, it’s the coolest night."
© Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
The decision to attend the State of the Union is a controversial one to some, though. One prominent sports radio host is "warning" the U.S. players that they might not know what they are getting themselves into.
U.S. players receive 'warning' before visit
Longtime sports columnist and radio host Greg Cote of "The Dan Le Batard Show" is warning the U.S. players.
"As long as the players realize that, this is an immensely unpopular president with half of the nation," he said.
"Going to this, to serve as a willing pawn, is controversial."
The show added: "The USA hockey players may not realize the political mess they're involving themselves in."
The U.S. players, meanwhile, remain excited.
“Yeah, we're excited to go. It's something you don't get to do every Tuesday. It's going to be special for us, but I'm glad you mentioned the women's team again. We're really happy for them,” Quinn Hughes, 26, said.
“Obviously, a lot going on on social media surrounding our team and their team,” he continued. “In the last couple [times] we've done a lot of training with them and got to know a lot of those girls really well. We're extremely happy to come.”