Sports commentators have had mixed reactions to reports that Caitlin Clark will not be traveling to Paris to join the U.S. women's basketball team for this summer's Olympics.
The Indiana Fever rookie, who is NCAA Division I basketball's all-time leading scorer, did not make the 12-player roster in a year that also saw Team USA veterans such as Phoenix Mercury stars Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi, New York Liberties' Breanna Stewart and Las Vegas Aces' A'ja Wilson selected, according to multiple media outlets.
Other players selected for the women's team include the Minnesota Lynx's Napheesa Collier, the Mercury's Kalia Copper, the Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu, the Seattle Storm's Jewel Loyd and the Connecticut Sun's Alyssa Thomas, along with the Aces' Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plumb and Jackie Young.
Clark, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, entered the league on a high note and would have been the fifth rookie to make the Olympic team, joining Sylvia Fowles, Candace Parker, Stewart and Taurasi in similar moves.
A source told USA Today's Christine Brennan that the process was influenced by concerns about how Clark's vast fan base would react to “probably limited playing time” among a veteran-heavy U.S. national team roster.
The U.S. team has won gold at every Summer Olympic Games since 1996 and is expected to do so again in Paris.
Sports commentator Mike Lupica took to social media to criticize the decision to leave Clark out of the team, saying:Incredibly stupid. “
“It must be a comfort to Caitlin Clark that the people who have criticized her ever since she joined the WNBA now see her being left off the Olympic team as a real good thing.” He wrote.
“The backlash against this young woman continues to be astounding.”
ESPN's Linda Cohn, in a post about the recent Fever vs. Washington Mystics game that drew more than 20,000 fans, called the decision a “lost opportunity.”
“All she does is grow baseball, fill arenas and set rookie records. What a shortsighted decision,” Cone wrote.
Jemele Hill wrote that Clark's absence from the U.S. national team is “actually a good thing for her.”
“In the space of a few weeks, she went from playing college baseball to playing pro and playing a demanding schedule. A few weeks off is probably not the worst thing in the world. She'll end up on the Olympic team.” Hill wrote.
She wrote that people need to “stop panicking” and noted that the league will be dealing with Clark “for a long time.”
“Her popularity isn't going anywhere. The league isn't going to fall apart if she's not on the team, and every decision shouldn't be about appeasing one player.” She wrote.
Read on for more details on why Clark wasn't selected for the Olympic team.
There's a lot of fake outrage from people who started watching women's basketball this year. The (historically undefeated) US Women's Olympic Basketball Team is fine without Caitlin Clark, and she'll be fine waiting another 4 years for her turn ☕️
— Arielle Orsuto (@ArielleOrsuto) June 8, 2024
I don't know enough about US Women's Olympic Basketball to know if the exclusion of Caitlin Clark is a disrespect, but I do know that at this point, she's the only reason I care at all about US Women's Olympic Basketball. https://t.co/IAP8bulQXg
— Alexi Lalas (@AlexiLalas) June 8, 2024
Why it's important to leave Caitlin Clark off the 2024 U.S. Olympic women's basketball team? I've covered the team at every Olympics since 1984, and each time I've been surprised by the lack of coverage and interest. Here are four sections from my February column on the subject. pic.twitter.com/MjwqeVQdR8
— Christine Brennan (@cbrennansports) June 8, 2024
Yo, Caitlin Clark deserves to represent Team USA in the Olympics. Period.
If Cameron Brink is on your team, please don't claim she should earn it or play more time in the league. SMH
— FLAVOR FLAV (@FlavorFlav) June 8, 2024
Christian Laettner made the Dream Team. Caitlin Clark doesn't make the Women's Olympic Basketball Team? A big part of the cost of the Olympics is revenue from broadcast partners. TV revenue. In Caitlin's case, TV money. A wasted opportunity.
— Colin Cowherd (@ColinCowherd) June 8, 2024
