Ellen Hughes, Mother of Jack and Quinn Hughes, goes on Today Show to defend Team USA

UPDATE 2: Ellen Hughes, Mother of Jack and Quinn Hughes and player development consultant for Team USA women’s team, went on the Today Show to defend her sons and the rest of team USA's men's team against the backlash that they're receiving on social media.

The Hughes brothers, along with the rest of their teammates, are receiving criticism for laughing at jokes that President Donald Trump made about Team USA's gold medal winning women's team.

Mama Hughes' response:

"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."

She also spoke about the "synergy" between the two squads.

“If you could see what we see from the inside, and the men and women sharing, you know, dorm rooms and halls and flex floors 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," she said. "And the other things they cannot control. They care about humanity. They care about unity and they care about the country.”

The hosts then asked Hughes for her personal experience in Milano and what it was like working with the women's team.

“It couldn’t have gone better,” she said. “Both teams going undefeated. We couldn’t have written a better story, and 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.”

All class.

This is real gold medal winning behavior. Shoutout to Mama Hughes for keeping things real.

UPDATE: Apparently the head of the FBI needs a 5'11, 170 lb enforcer in Jack Hughes to defend him these days. Golden goal hero Jack Hughes was asked about the criticism that Patel is receiving on social media today after he flew to Milan on the tax payer's dime to party with Team USA.

"People are so negative out there," Hughes said. "They are just trying to find a reason to put people down and make something out of almost nothing."

I would say that they have reason to be angry, Jack... the head of the FBI told American citizens that he would spend "every waking moment" getting to the bottom of the Epstein Files and here he is slamming beers like he's part of the team. You can understand that that's not a good look, right?

To be fair to Jack, and the rest of Team USA though, there's no good reason for him and his team to be pulled into this mess of a controversy. Patel doesn't belong in the team's dressing room and now they're being dragged through the mud by association. It's a shame that this will taint their incredible gold medal victory in some people's eyes.

The fact is that the Americans played an outstanding tournament and they clutched up when it mattered the most. Patel's poor decision to insert himself into the party is taking all of the headlines away from these players and their fantastic accomplishments.

Read below for our earlier report on this developing story.

Now here's an article I never thought I'd have to write...

FBI Director Kash Patel is under fire for taking a private jet to Milano, Italy to party with Team USA's gold medal winning hockey team this past Sunday... all on the tax payer's dime.

Oh... and while he's meant to be heading up the largest investigation in American history. An investigation that is plagued by allegations of a massive cover up perpetrated by him and other top FBI officials.

Talk about having your priorities in order...

As you might imagine, Patel is under fire from American citizens for his actions, especially after photos and videos leaked from the dressing room show him slamming beers and essentially acting like one of the boys.

Allow me to editorialize for a moment: What a fucking dork.

Okay, back to the facts...

Patel took to social media yesterday to defend his decision to travel and party with the team amidst the largest scandal in FBI and, indeed, American history. Again, keep in mind that this trip cost upwards of $400,000 just for Patel to play make believe and pretend like he's a real life hockey player, just like in his dreams.

Sorry.. I editorialized again. This guy is just such a pipsqueak that I can't help myself.

Patel wrote on social media on Sunday: "Yes, I love America and was extremely humbled when my friends, the newly minted Gold Medal winners on Team USA, invited me into the locker room to celebrate this historic moment with the boys- Greatest country on earth and greatest sport on Earth."

I'll say this... he's got the whole 'greatest sport on Earth' part correct. Patel and I could probably have a beer and talk hockey, so there must be something redeeming about him after all.