Jack Hughes, with a bloodied mouth, scored the golden goal that delivered the United States its first Olympic men’s hockey title in 46 years. The 2-1 overtime thriller against Canada sent the nation into celebration, until a locker room video call with President Donald Trump, who offered his congratulations before making a casual statement about the women’s team that immediately became controversial, with the men’s team seen laughing at it.

Appearing on NBC News’ Today show, Ellen Weinberg-Hughes, the mother of Jack and Quinn Hughes, addressed the controversy with a call for unity that acknowledged both sides without assigning blame.

“Well, I think at the end of the day, it’s just about the country and the moment that these players, both the men and women, can bring so much unity to a group and to a country,” she said. “People that cheered on that don’t watch hockey, people that have politics on one side, or on the other side. And that’s all both the men’s team and the women’s team care about.”

Well, Ellen isn’t just the mother of Jack and Quinn Hughes, but she also worked as a player development coach for the women’s hockey team throughout their own gold medal run. All three Hughes donned the stars and stripes in pride, and that carried more value than any speculation online.

“If you could see what we see from the inside and the men and women sharing, you know, dorm rooms and halls and flex doors and the camaraderie and the synergy and the way the women cheered on the men and the way the men cheered on the women. That’s what it’s all about,” Jack Hughes’ mother added.

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“And the other things, they cannot control. They care about humanity. They care about unity and they care about the country. I hope everybody just understands, what we did in the moment, both the men and the women, to bring this country together and let everybody cheer in the same direction.”

Her statement was a simple reminder that these athletes stayed united throughout the Milan Games, as they spent weeks in the Olympic Village and celebrated their own victories together. Indeed, even her son echoed similar sentiments.

Jack Hughes had a straightforward response to the controversy

Even if a U.S. women’s hockey squad’s spokesperson comfirmed that “due to the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments following the Games,” the team decided to cancel their visit to the White House, speculations still circled the internet that the President’s statement didn’t sit well with the players.

Jack Hughes, though, had a straightforward message for the critics online, stating, “They’ve got busy schedules, too. 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.”

The New Jersey Devils forward added a more personal perspective, stating, “Our relationship with them, over the course of being in the Athletes’ Village, I think we are so tight with their group. After we won the gold medal, we were in the cafeteria at 3:30 am with them, and we go from there, pack our bags, and we’re on the bus.”

The U.S. hockey teams secured their gold medals by defeating Canada, and they enjoyed their share of celebrations without any animosity between them.

“People are so negative about things. I think everyone in that locker room knows how much we support them, how proud we are of them, and we know the same way we feel about them, they feel about us,” he stated, concluding his thoughts on the speculations.

The #86 was quite clear with his words. Currently, for them and the entire nation, it is a moment to celebrate rather than waste any time in assumptions.