BOSTON — Charlie McAvoy has been forced into an apology after a viral clip of the US men's hockey team laughing at a Trump joke about the women's team sent the internet into a full-blown civil war — with one side demanding the Bruins defenseman be banished from Boston, and the other side telling them to go buy some Munchkins and have a good cry.

The drama started when McAvoy and teammate Jeremy Swayman — fresh off winning Olympic gold at Milan-Cortina — accepted the customary White House invitation. That alone was enough to trigger a meltdown. But then President Trump cracked a joke about the US women's hockey team, the men's team laughed, and it was over. The clip went everywhere.

McAvoy was asked about it when he got back to Boston. He didn't dodge it.

Charlie McAvoy on Team USA's reaction to Trump's joke about the US women's team:

"Certainly sorry for how we responded to it in that moment. Things just happened really quick there. ... It's certainly not reflective of how we feel and look at them and their accomplishments."

— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) February 26, 2026

An Olympic gold medalist apologizing for laughing at a joke the president cracked in front of his team. That's where we are now.

McAvoy on sharing the Olympic win with his family:

"Don't ever stop dreaming. .... I had an embrace with my dad. ... I jumped up and pulled myself up to grab him, and he's crying. That's the guy that had me on the ice when I was two at the little rink in Long Beach."

— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) February 26, 2026

That quote — about his dad crying, about the little rink in Long Beach — is what McAvoy actually wanted to talk about today. Instead he spent his press availability explaining why he laughed.

The meltdown that started it all

Before the apology, the online fury was already at a rolling boil. The White House visit alone was enough to get McAvoy and Swayman declared enemies of the state by a certain corner of Hockey Twitter.

As a lifelong @NHLBruins fan and diehard fan of Charlie McAvoy, all I have to say is he can officially go fuck himself horizontally. Swayman, too. Completely embarrassed to have two core players on the team I support bending the knee to Trump

— healthyscratchx (@healthyscratchx) February 25, 2026

Horizontally. Not vertically, not diagonally — horizontally. We're not entirely sure of the logistics but we admire the specificity.

jeremy swayman and charlie mcavoy you're dead to me so incredibly disappointed esp in sway

— soph_ackert (@soph_ackert) February 25, 2026

'Dead to me.' Until the next playoff-saving glove save, presumably.

Meanwhile, the US women's Olympic hockey team declined their own White House invitation — which prompted a number of furious Bruins fans to threaten to defect to the PWHL's Boston Fleet. We're sure they could have named three players on the roster before this week.

@NHLBruins Lost respect for him partying with Patel and calling Trump daddy over the phone. And mocking the women. Swayman too. Not watching anymore mens hockey. Fuck the NHL. PWHL on top go Fleet

— casey_kenz21 (@casey_kenz21) February 23, 2026

We wish the Fleet nothing but the best with their exciting new fanbase of people who couldn't name a single player on either roster 48 hours ago.

MDN readers fire back

When Mass Daily News posted the original story on X, it racked up over 10,000 views — and the replies were overwhelmingly from the other direction. MDN readers had thoughts.

@MassDailyNews A fuckin apology for meeting the president? Take a fuckin hike, people. Regardless of who the president is, you go. You're in the Oval fuckin Office.

Shut the fuck up with this crap. Liberal Massachusetts is absurd.

— ChestnutTrill83 (@ChestnutTrill83) February 26, 2026

@MassDailyNews Who gives a shit, they were invited by the President and they should have gone !! Stop the madness

— queenbrat242 (@queenbrat242) February 26, 2026

@MassDailyNews 😱 hockey fans don't give two shits about who visits the White House or not. Sports fans are mostly common sense people and don't freak out over bs.

— FrenetteSteven (@FrenetteSteven) February 26, 2026

@MassDailyNews Can you add an option that is just "no"? I'm not upset they went but I don't love them, lol

— Bostonwriter1 (@Bostonwriter1) February 26, 2026

The most measured take in the entire thread, and it came with a "lol."

So one side wants McAvoy exiled from Boston. The other side wants the first side exiled from Boston. Classic Massachusetts.

The Tim Thomas callback

Here's the bit that makes the whole saga delicious. In 2012, Bruins goalie Tim Thomas skipped the team's White House visit with President Obama, citing his personal beliefs. A very similar online crowd savaged Thomas for it — calling him selfish, disrespectful, and an embarrassment.

So the updated rulebook reads: skip a Democratic president's White House and you're a disgrace. Attend a Republican president's White House and you're also a disgrace. The only safe option is to exist in a quantum state where you are simultaneously at the White House and not at the White House, which is a save even Swayman can't make.

@MassDailyNews There is no way that Bruins fans are demanding an apology. So ridiculous.

— Punkwheezer (@Punkwheezer) February 26, 2026

What actually happened

McAvoy and Swayman won Olympic gold. They visited the White House. Trump made a joke about the women's team. The men laughed. McAvoy said sorry.

That's the whole story. Everything else is the internet doing what the internet does.

Ayanna Pressley boycotted the State of the Union. McAvoy and Swayman went. Both are allowed. Neither is the end of the world.