Brady Tkachuk, the Ottawa Senators captain and a Team USA gold medalist, said he didn’t appreciate the AI-doctored video released by the White House that made it appear he was disparaging Canadians.
The video, published Sunday by the White House’s official TikTok account, featured doctored footage from a Tkachuk brothers’ news conference at the 4 Nations Face-Off last February. While “Free Bird,” the goal song for Team USA, played in the background of the video, Brady Tkachuk was made to say, “They booed our national anthem, so I had to come out and teach those maple syrup eating f—s a lesson.”
The clip, which discloses that it used AI-generated media, has 11.1 million views on TikTok and has been widely viewed on other social media platforms.
“Well, it’s clearly fake, because it’s not my voice, not my lips moving,” Tkachuk said Thursday in his first media availability in Ottawa since the U.S. defeated Canada for the gold medal in men’s Olympic ice hockey in Milan. “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.”
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Tkachuk was asked if he enjoyed the video.
“It’s not my voice. It’s not what I was saying,” he said. “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.”
Tkachuk also addressed what he didn’t say during Team USA’s locker room celebration. Some on social media accused Tkachuk of being the person who shouted, “Close the northern border!” during Team USA’s congratulatory call with President Donald Trump.
“I’ve been seeing stuff that people think it’s me. But if you watch the video, it’s not my voice or something that I never say,” Tkachuk said. “I don’t know how that took a storm on its own when I give everything I have here.
“It’s crazy when things go on social media, how fast they go. I would never say anything like that.”
On that call, Trump made a widely circulated comment about the U.S. women’s hockey team, which also won Olympic gold.
When Trump extended an invitation to the men’s players to come to Washington for the State of the Union address, he said: “I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that,” adding with a laugh that if he didn’t also invite the women’s team, “I do believe I probably would be impeached.” Some players laughed along with the joke.
Team USA star Hilary Knight said Wednesday on “SportsCenter” that she thought it was a “distasteful” joke that “unfortunately is overshadowing” the success her team had in Milan. Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman, a member of Team USA, said Wednesday that “we should’ve reacted differently.”
Like other American players, Tkachuk detailed a positive relationship between the men’s and women’s teams in the Olympics, from attending each other’s games to hanging out at 3 a.m. in the Olympic Village café after the men returned as champions.
Tkachuk said he understood why women’s players could feel insulted by that comment.
“I mean, I get it,” he said. “We support them, they support us. You can’t control what other people say. It was fun being around them, seeing how they play and the excellence around them.
“If I see one of them, we’ll talk about the excitement of what we can control, which is to be gold medalists.”
As for why the men’s team laughed at Trump’s comment, Tkachuk said the players were “caught off guard” a little bit.
“I don’t really have an answer. It’s a whirlwind of a moment,” he said. “You can’t control what somebody says. I guess got caught off guard a little bit. You’re talking to the president 10 minutes after you achieve your dream.”
Brady Tkachuk is one of five Team USA players whose NHL clubs are based in Canada. He partied in Miami with his teammates and then attended the State of the Union Address in Washington before returning to Ottawa.
“It was special,” he said. “Being an American citizen, you never really think you’re going to see the White House and be in the Oval Office.”
But Tkachuk noted the awkwardness of helping the U.S. defeat Canada for the gold medal while being the captain for a team in Canada’s capital, a position he has held the past five seasons in Ottawa.
“It’s just such a passionate fan base,” he said. “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.”
