Brady Tkachuk has had enough of the conspiracy theories thrown his way after Team USA’s Olympic celebration.
While President Donald Trump was on the phone in the locker room after the U.S. defeated Canada to claim the Olympic gold medal in Milan on Sunday, someone appeared to shout “close the northern border,” referring to the border between the U.S. and Canada.
Many on social media accused Tkachuk of being the culprit. He shut down the rumors Thursday in his first media availability with the Senators since winning gold.
“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.”
Another claim Tkachuk addressed Thursday revolved around an AI-doctored video posted by the official White House TikTok account.
In the clip, which showed edited footage of a news conference at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, Tkachuk is shown saying, “They booed our national anthem, so I had to come out and teach those maple syrup eating f–ks a lesson.”
The clip has over 10 million views. When asked about the it, Tkachuk, the Ottawa captain, didn’t mince words.
“Well, it’s clearly fake, because it’s not my voice, not my lips moving,” Tkachuk said. “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.”
The two instances weren’t the only controversy to happen during the aftermath of the Olympics. On the call with the men’s hockey team, Trump made a remark about the women’s squad, which also claimed gold.
After offering the men’s team an invitation to the White House, Trump added, “I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that.”
Hilary Knight, the captain of the women’s team, called it a “distasteful joke” that is overshadowing their victory.
On the men’s side, its gold was its first since 1980 “Miracle on Ice.” The U.S. went a perfect 6-0 in Milan, and Jack Hughes capped off a strong Olympics with the gamewinner in overtime versus Canada.
Jack and his brother Quinn led Team USA with seven and eight points, respectively, while Tkachuk added six assists.
However, Tkachuk’s play hasn’t been the focus recently. Instead, he’s been forced to defend himself from off-the-ice conspiracies.