How Sports Journalism Lurched Leftward

The furor over the USA men’s hockey team visiting the Trump White House has faded, but the gap between sports media and the average fan lingers. Hockey enthusiasts celebrated the American players’ return to their local NHL teams, but journalists showered the squad with criticism for doing what dozens of teams from numerous sports had done before: visit Washington to be cheered by the president and the nation. What was acceptable in Barack Obama’s presidency, when more than 80 teams visited the White House, was denigrated under Trump as “a lustrous display of sportswashing.”