Trump praises Putin-loyal athlete after banning Philadelphia Eagles

| 8:11 pm EDT June 8, 2018
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Donald Trump “banned” the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles from the White House earlier this week, after it was revealed that roughly eighty percent of the team was planning to boycott the visit anyway. The star players for the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers, the two teams currently battling for the NBA championship, then both announced that they’ll boycott Trump’s White House if they win. Now that Trump has alienated most of the American sports landscape, he’s singling out an athlete for praise who is openly loyal to Russian President Vladimir Putin. No, really.

Last night the Washington Capitals won the NHL hockey championship. This morning Donald Trump posted this tweet, which seems innocuous, unless you know the background of the player he name-checked: “Congratulations to the Washington Capitals on their GREAT play and winning the Stanley Cup Championship. Alex Ovechkin, the team captain, was spectacular – a true Superstar! D.C. is popping, in many ways. What a time!”

Alex Ovechkin is an NHL star. But Trump’s decision to lavish him with over-the-top praise probably has less to do with Ovechkin’s play, and more to do with Ovechkin’s overt support for Vladimir Putin. Back in December, the Washington Post referred to Ovechkin as “Putin’s biggest fan.” Ovechkin has launched a social media movement in support of Putin’s regime.

Ovechkin was born in Moscow, so it’s not all that surprising that he’s loyal to Russia’s President. And this is America, which means that Ovechkin has the free speech to voice support for any political regime he likes. But it stands out that Donald Trump is lavishing praise on the most famously Putin-loyal athlete in American professional sports, during the same week he banned the Super Bowl winning team from the White House, and on the same day he demanded that Russia be added to the G7 alliance.