Hilary Knight wants focus on the US women's Olympic success, not Trump's 'distasteful' joke

SEATTLE (AP) — Hilary Knight doesn't want to let what she called a “distasteful” joke by President Donald Trump about the gold-medal winning U.S. women's Olympic hockey team get in the way of a historic performance by American women across all sports at the Milan Cortina Games.

“I just thought the joke was distasteful and unfortunate," Knight said on Wednesday alongside fellow Olympians Alex Carpenter, Hannah Bilka and Cayla Barnes at the Seattle Space Needle ahead of their return to play for the Seattle Torrent of the Professional Women's Hockey League. "And, I think just the way women are represented, it’s a great teaching point and really shines light on how women should be championed for their amazing feats.”

Knight, a two-time gold medalist whose 15 goals and 33 points in Olympic competition are the most by a U.S. hockey player at the Games, said she's not focusing on an offhand comment by Trump after the American men topped Canada for gold in overtime on Sunday.

Talking on a speakerphone in the postgame locker room, Trump extended an invitation to the White House to the men's team, then added, “We’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that.” The president later joked that if he didn't extend the invitation, he would probably be impeached.

While the vast majority of the men's team flew to Washington on Tuesday and visited Trump in the White House before being guests at the State of the Union, many of the women's players were on the way back to their professional or college clubs.

USA Hockey, which said it was “honored” by the invitation, cited logistical issues as the major hurdle that prevented the women's team from stopping by the White House. The team was originally scheduled to fly commercially into New York on Monday, but was forced to reroute through Atlanta due to a snowstorm in the Northeast.

Several players were going to stick around New York for promotional purposes, even ringing the bell at the New York Stock Exchange. Those scheduled appearances had to be canceled because of flight changes.

Knight lamented that the video — which included several players laughing after Trump's comments — took on a life of its own and didn't convey the true nature of the relationship between the men's and women's US hockey programs.

“The men’s and the women’s team did it together,” Knight said. “And, that’s super special. It’s never been done in our program’s history. It’s something we’re extremely proud about. But these women are amazing. And whatever’s going on should never outshine or minimize their work and our success on the world stage.”

Kelly Pannek, a forward on the women's team, told reporters “the video is what it is" but added it was a “special feeling” spending time with the men's team after they won the first Olympic gold for the U.S. in 46 years. Pannek believes there is mutual respect and support on both sides.

Goaltender Jeremy Swayman told reporters in Boston after returning to practice with the Bruins that the men “should have reacted differently” to Trump's remarks.

“To share that gold medal with them is something that we’re forever grateful for,” Swayman said. "And now that we’re home we get to share that together forever and see the incredible support we have from the USA and share this incredible gold medal.”

The earliest the U.S. women could make a White House visit would be in late spring after the conclusion of the PWHL season.

The U.S. won 12 gold medals in Milan Cortina, with women playing a hand in eight of them. The women's hockey team outscored opponents 33-2 on its way to the top of the podium.

“This was the best American women’s hockey team, the best American team we’ve ever put together on the world stage when the lights have been the brightest ever,” Knight said. “And so, I think everybody felt that going through the tournament. And, I want to celebrate. I want people to be remembered for that. I want the legacy of this team to be remembered.”

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

United States' Hilary Knight (21) celebrates after scoring her side's opening goal during a women's ice hockey gold medal game between the United States and Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Members of the United States' Olympic gold medal hockey team enter the gallery as President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

United States' Kendall Coyne, left, and United States' Hilary Knight celebrate after victory ceremony for women's ice hockey at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Singer D4vd is the target of a Los Angeles County grand jury investigation of the killing of a 14-year-old girl whose decomposed body was found last year in a Tesla that was towed from the Hollywood Hills, court documents showed.

Prosecutors describe the 20-year-old Houston-born alt-pop singer whose legal name is David Burke as the target of the investigation in grand jury subpoenas issued Jan. 15 seeking to have three of his relatives testify.

The documents were obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday. They were sealed in California, where the grand jury investigation has been kept secret. But they were made public by an appeal of the subpoenas in Texas from the singer's mother, father and brother.

The documents say the “Target may be involved in having committed the following criminal offenses against the laws of the State of California, to wit: One count of Murder.”

Authorities had not publicly named D4vd — pronounced “David” — as a suspect in the case.

The long-dead body of Celeste Rivas Hernandez was found on Sept. 8, a day after she would have turned 15. She was a 13-year-old seventh grader when her family reported her missing in 2024 from her hometown of Lake Elsinore, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles. Authorities give her age as 14 when she was killed in the court documents.

The subpoena says police investigators searching the 2023 Tesla Model Y in a tow yard found a cadaver bag “covered with insects and a strong odor of decay.”

It says “detectives partially unzipped the bag and observed a decomposed head and torso.”

Investigators from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office responded to the scene.

“Upon removing the cadaver bag from the front storage compartment, it was discovered the arms and legs had been severed from the body," the document says. “A second black bag was discovered underneath the cadaver bag. Upon opening the second bag, the dismembered body parts were discovered.”

Representatives for D4vd did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday, and they have not previously responded to emails seeking comment on the case.

District attorney's representatives also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A judge in Texas said the three family members could not ignore the subpoenas and must appear to testify.

The Tesla had been towed from an upscale neighborhood in the Hollywood hills where it had been sitting, seemingly abandoned.

The singer was in the middle of a U.S. tour and continued to play several shows after her body was found. But he eventually canceled the rest of his concerts and a European tour after his connection to the case became widely reported.

The Medical Examiner's Office had previously said only that the body was found severely decomposed and had likely been “deceased inside the vehicle for an extended period of time before being found.”

In November, Los Angeles police got a judge to prevent Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Odey Ukpo from releasing the findings of the autopsy, and no cause of death and little else about the investigation has been revealed.

D4vd gained popularity among Gen Z fans for his blend of indie rock, R&B and lo-fi pop. He went viral on TikTok in 2022 with the hit “Romantic Homicide,” which peaked at No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart. He then signed with Darkroom and Interscope Records and released his debut EP “Petals to Thorns” and a follow-up, “The Lost Petals,” in 2023.

When the body was discovered, D4vd had been on tour in support of his first full-length album, “Withered." Later, the last two North American shows, in San Francisco and Los Angeles, along with a scheduled performance at LA's Grammy Museum, were canceled, as was the European tour that was to have begun in Norway.

Associated Press writer Jaimie Ding and former AP writer Itzel Luna contributed.

FILE - American singer-songwriter, David Anthony Burke, aka d4vd, performs on the Casino stage during the 58th Montreux Jazz Festival (MJF), in Montreux, Switzerland, July 19, 2024. (Cyril Zingaro/Keystone via AP, File)