The Olympic aftershocks are still rattling, and now two former ESPN heavyweights are in the middle of it.
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It started when Linda Cohn pushed back on a Toronto Star opinion piece criticizing Auston Matthews for visiting the White House after Team USA's gold-medal win at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The column suggested Matthews "made his choice," putting President Donald Trump ahead of his commitment to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Cohn wasn't having it.
"If this is how Leafs fans feel, if I'm Auston Matthews, I'd take control of my life and go where I'm wanted," she wrote on X, adding, "Be better. I hope you don't speak for Leafs fans."
That's when Keith Olbermann entered the chat.
Olbermann unloaded, calling Cohn a "self-obsessed politically motivated clown" and accusing her of demanding her own views be treated as untouchable.
Be better. I hope you don’t speak for Leafs fans. https://t.co/3dBwkBI8OP
— Linda Cohn (@lindacohn) February 26, 2026
Yes, that escalated quickly.
Matthews, captain of both Team USA and the Maple Leafs, visited the White House with most of his teammates but skipped the State of the Union address. The team has faced backlash for laughing during a celebratory phone call with Trump and for partying in Miami before returning to NHL duties.
The Toronto Star even argued Matthews failed as Leafs captain by not rushing back to Toronto amid a tight playoff race.
So here we are.
Olympic gold. Political crossfire. Old ESPN teammates trading haymakers online. And Auston Matthews somehow stuck in the middle of all of it.
