Caitlin Clark and Jemele Hill (Photos via Getty Images)
Reports that Caitlin Clark would not be traveling to Paris to play for the U.S. women’s basketball team at the Olympics this summer elicited conflicting responses from sports commentators.
The all-time greatest scorer in NCAA Division I basketball and rookie for the Indiana Fever, Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi of the Phoenix Mercury, Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty, and A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces were among the Team USA veterans that made the 12-player squad.
Sources told Christine Brennan of USA Today that one factor in the decision was uncertainty about how Clark’s enormous fan following would react to “what would likely be limited playing time” on Team USA’s roster, which is heavily veteran-heavy.
It is anticipated that Team USA, which has won gold in every summer Olympics since 1996, will make a repeat appearance in Paris.
Given how many games Clark has played in the past year, Jemele Hill thinks USA Basketball made the right call, despite criticism directed at the organization for its selection.
“Honestly, Caitlin Clark not being on this year’s Olympics team is actually a good thing — FOR HER,” Hill, the former ESPN anchor and current Atlantic writer, wrote on X on Saturday.
“In the span of weeks, she went from playing college ball, to becoming a professional, to having a grind of schedule. A multi-week break probably isn’t the worst thing in the world. She will eventually make an Olympic team.”
Hill added that she believes the WNBA’s health and Olympic TV ratings will remain good even without Clark.
She further concluded that she feels Caitlin Clark not being selected doesn’t even really qualify as a “snub.”
“I don’t consider Caitlin Clark being left off the Olympic team, a snub,” Hill wrote in an additional X post. “Now, when Candace Parker and Nneka Ogwumike were left off the Olympic teams, THAT was a snub.”
Parker participated in the Olympics in 2008 and 2012. However, she was left off of the Brazil 2016 roster.
The 2020 gold medal-winning squad surprisingly did not include Ogwumike, the 2016 WNBA MVP, despite her impressive performance in the 2020 FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament, when she averaged 13.7 points and 6.0 rebounds.
ESPN’s Linda Cohn Was Not Happy About Caitlin Clark Not Being On Team USA
Caitlin Clark (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
According to reports, Caitlin Clark, a prominent player for the Indiana Fever, will not be competing for Team USA in the women’s basketball tournament in Paris in 2024.
Comments about the situation have come from every corner of the country.
In a post responding to a Fever-Washington Mystics game that recently drew over 20,000 fans, ESPN‘s Linda Cohn called the Team USA decision a “lost opportunity.”
“All she does is grow the game, pack arenas, and set rookie records. What a short-sighted decision,” Cohn wrote on X.
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Source: Los Angeles Times (edited)
