Rare audio: JFK blasts Team USA, calls the players "girls"

President John F. Kennedy wondered what the awful U.S. Hockey Team could do for its country. (Getty Images) By Allan Muir Mitch Potter, Washington bureau

President John F. Kennedy wondered what the awful U.S. Hockey Team could do for its country. (Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

Mitch Potter, Washington bureau chief of the Toronto Star, was digging around some recently released recordings and transcripts of President John F. Kennedy the other day when he came across a bit of private audio gold from 1963.

The president may have been embroiled in a snake pit of international turmoil at the time, but he was still a sports fan. And like any other sports fan, he needed to vent after a devastating defeat. So he called up his aide (and obviously savvy hockey fan) David Hackett after reading about Team USA's humiliating 17-2 loss to Sweden at the World Hockey Championships.

"Christ, who are we sending over there?" Kennedy asked. "Girls? God, we've got some pretty good hockey players, haven't we?"

Girls. Classic JFK.

As the attentive Hackett noted, the Americans weren't beating anybody at that event. They ended up going 1-5-1 while being outscored 64-21 and finishing dead last out of eight teams.

Kennedy's hot sports opinions on Team USA here