David Beckham rubbed shoulders with plenty of sporting superstars during his time in Los Angeles

Few England footballers have made as significant an impact beyond the pitch as David Beckham. The former Manchester United midfielder’s reach has extended far and wide, with his bold move to Los Angeles playing a key role.

Beckham signed for Major League Soccer outfit LA Galaxy in 2007 following a stint with Real Madrid. Throughout a five-year spell in MLS, he mingled with major Hollywood names as well as sporting icons from America’s ‘big four’ sports, while still making time to win trophies before retiring.

Among those sporting figures was Wayne Gretzky, a legendary name in ice hockey who starred for the Los Angeles Kings, among other teams. The Canadian had never been a big fan of football – the European variety, at least – but gained a newfound fondness when he and Beckham crossed paths.

The chance to see the former Manchester United star in action was only one aspect of it, though. Gretzky also has warm memories of the thoughtful gesture Beckham made towards his young son.

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“When I was in LA, David Beckham came to LA,” Gretzky recalled when speaking to TNT Sports. “I did not know a lot about soccer and I said, ‘I have got to see this guy play.’ He was so incredible, it was so much fun to watch him play.

“And more importantly, my son, at the time he was eight, we went down to the locker room and he took my son around and got every player in the team to sign his jersey. So I have got a great deal of respect for athletes who are really nice and perform well under pressure also.”

Beckham turned out more than 100 times for LA Galaxy and ended his career as a winner of MLS Cup in 2012. Since hanging up his boots he has assumed ownership of his own expansion franchise, Inter Miami, who claimed the same trophy for the first time in 2025.

In the years following his encounter with the England icon, Gretzky’s passion for football has intensified. He participated in the draw for World Cup 2026, where his native country, Canada, will share hosting duties with Mexico and the United States.

Canada, managed by Jesse Marsch, have been placed in a group alongside Qatar, Switzerland and whoever wins the European play-off comprising Italy, Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Wales. England, for whom Beckham excelled at numerous World Cups throughout his playing career, will face Croatia, Ghana and Panama.

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Multiple US Olympic men’s ice hockey players have apologised for their team’s response after President Donald Trump said he would “have to” invite the women’s team to the White House too.

The gold-winning men’s team took a congratulatory call from Trump last weekend as they celebrated their final victory over Canada, where the president extended an invitation to Washington DC.

US men’s ice hockey players apologise 

Locker room footage showed several players laughing as the president said that he would be “impeached” if he did not also invite the US women, who also won gold, to his State of the Union address.

Both Trump’s remarks and the reaction have drawn intense criticism, which has overshadowed the historic triumphs, and the women’s side later declined an invitation from Trump to Tuesday’s speech, citing prior commitments.

“Certainly sorry for how we responded to it in that moment. You know, things just happened really quick there,” Charlie McAvoy told reporters ahead of an NHL game Thursday.

“If you know the relationships that we have… with the women’s team and how we’ve supported them, it’s certainly not reflective of how we feel,” said McAvoy, a defenseman for the Boston Bruins.

Matthew Tkachuk, who plays for the Carolina Panthers, said the US men’s and women’s teams in Milan were “so close.”

“We watched other events together. We went and supported. We love the women’s team, and the women’s team loved us. And we’re so proud that we had a clean sweep of gold medals,” he said.

Tkachuk’s brother Brady Tkachuk, captain of the Ottawa Senators, echoed those feelings, and indicated he didn’t care for an AI enhanced video published on the official White House TikTok account in which he appears to disparage Canadians.

“Well, it’s clearly fake, because it’s not my voice, not my lips moving,” Brady Tkachuk told reporters on Thursday.

The video was released after Sunday’s gold medal triumph and it is marked as using artificial intelligence.

“I’m not in control of any of those accounts,” he said. “I know that those words would never come out of my mouth. So I can’t do anything about it.

“It’s not my voice. It’s not what I was saying. I would never say that. It’s not who I am. So I guess I don’t like that video.”

Tkachuk said that as an American it was a thrill to be among some 20 players from the men’s team who were feted at the White House and again at Trump’s speech before a joint session of Congress.

But as players returned to NHL duty the controversy continued to rumble.

Jake Sanderson, Brady Tkachuk’s USA and Ottawa teammate, told journalists the laughter had been “a bit of a mistake” that “got blown out of proportion a little bit,” while reserve goaltender Jeremy Swayman said “we should’ve reacted differently.”

‘Distasteful joke by Trump’

During his State of the Union address, Trump said the women’s team “will soon be coming to the White House.”

Hilary Knight, captain of the victorious women’s team, said it was unfortunate that a “distasteful joke” by Trump had overshadowed the achievements of US athletes at the Milan-Cortina Games.

“How we speak about women matters, and we need to celebrate this team,” Knight said Thursday on “Good Morning America.”

The team has yet to determine whether to visit the White House, ESPN reported.

But they are set to attend a celebratory event in Las Vegas this July hosted by rapper Flavor Flav.