Jack Hughes is a physically tough guy. In the gold medal ice hockey game, he took a stick to the mouth that broke some teeth. He shrugged it off, and scored the winning goal in overtime.

After the game, Hughes gave a spirited interview in which he said he "loved the USA" and that he and his teammates were "proud to be Americans." It was a good moment.

But when President Trump gets involved, good moments usually turn to shit. FBI Director Kash Patel appeared in the men's locker room, guzzling beer and summoning Trump on speaker. Trump offered to transport the men's team by military plane to attend the State of the Union address. Patel assured the President that he was "fucking on it." Then Trump, the self-proclaimed defender of women in sports, said: "I must tell you, we have to bring the women's team ... if I didn't I do believe I'd probably be impeached." The team laughed.

And on Tuesday night, there they were, bit actors in Trump's perverse reality show.

Not a single member of the men's team had the balls to stand up for his teammates on the women's squad in real time. Not one. In an interview the next day, Hughes tried to paper over Trump's misogyny and his team's amused response. He said, "People are so negative out there, trying to make something out of almost nothing."

Um-hmm.

The women's ice hockey team declined the invitation to attend the State of the Union. Hilary Knight called Trump's joke "distasteful."

Why would men capable of performing remarkable feats of courage and endurance on one stage bend a knee to an abuser of women on another?

In the Epstein files, we see this all too common failing of the male psyche turned up to 11. Men choosing to joke about the sex trafficking of young girls, and to participate themselves, so as not to be booted from their friend group. Alpha dogs in one setting, extreme beta conspirators in another.

I hope the men's team enjoyed their McDonald's burgers and fries at the White House. They traded a small piece of their souls for fast food and some yuks at women's expense.

Writing in the Athletic, Jerry Brewer described how the US men's hockey team "lost the room" in the aftermath of Trump's call. Marc Thiessen of the Washington Post attributed Brewer's opinion, and the hubbub in general, to Trump Derangement Syndrome. Of course he did, it's all he ever does.

While Thiessen may be happy with the defining feature of the USA being a boot in someone's ass, as the Toby Keith song played by the men's team after their victory suggests, our country's mission is in fact grander and more sublime. Trump, Thiessen's idol, doesn't get this any more than Thiessen. Trump posted an AI-generated video of Brady Tkachuk calling Canadians "maple syrup-eating fucks," prompting Tkachuk to clarify that he "would never say that." No doubt, Tkachuk was motivated in part by his regular gig: captain of the Ottawa Senators.

The company you keep is the single most important factor in determining the quality of your life.