The Caitlin Clark chaos continues. And once again, it’s not something that she starts, but instead, the drama is about everything and everyone else.
Over the weekend, multiple reports confirmed that the women’s basketball phenom would be left off of a star-studded USA Women’s Basketball Team for the Paris Olympics.
The team prioritized veterans as seven of the 12 players who made the roster had already played on the team in the past, while two others played in the Olympics on the 3×3 team. That means only three players who made the team were not previously Olympians, though all have more WNBA experience than Clark.
Clark has undoubtedly been the catalyst for elevating the women’s game. After carrying Iowa to two consecutive NCAA National Championship appearances, she’s already had an impressive start to her WNBA career, winning Rookie of the Month in May.
Her exclusion from the team raised eyebrows and opened another chapter to the Caitlin Clark conversation, as it seemed like the conversation on her treatment and the league’s physicality was starting to fade.
Related: NBA commissioner offers candid opinion on Caitlin Clark saga
What those who wanted Clark on Team USA are saying
Veteran journalist Christine Brennan, who has covered women’s sports since the 1980s, was one of the earliest and loudest voices who felt that Team USA should have put Clark on the roster.
Brennan, a columnist for USA Today, wrote a story for the outlet titled “Leaving Caitlin Clark off Olympic team, USA Basketball airballs on huge opportunity.”
In the story, Brennan wrote that the inclusion of Clark on the roster would have given the women’s basketball team “the spotlight they deserve from a national and global audience.”
In a previous column, Brennan also added that the inclusion of Clark over more veteran talents wouldn’t be the first time considering the men’s side had Duke star Christian Laettner on the 1992 Dream Team, while the women’s side has had the likes of Diana Taurasi and Breanna Stewart join their respective Olympic teams despite being WNBA rookies like Clark.
Why leaving Caitlin Clark off the 2024 US Olympic women’s basketball team matters, a lot. I’ve reported on the team at every Olympics since 1984. I’ve watched the stunning lack of coverage & lack of interest every time. Here are four sections of my Feb column on this exact topic: pic.twitter.com/MjwqeVQdR8
— Christine Brennan (@cbrennansports) June 8, 2024
WNBA great Lisa Leslie also told The Sporting News in April that she believes Clark should be on the roster.
Lisa Leslie told SN that Caitlin Clark should “one hundred percent” be on Team USA for the 2024 Olympics. https://t.co/HDSENHNawR pic.twitter.com/woHzlNTMiV
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) April 12, 2024
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith called the decision to leave Clark off the team as “stupid.” He admitted that Clark may not be at the same level as the other players from a basketball standpoint, but he believes the conversation is not just about basketball.
Stephen A. Smith on Caitlin Clark being left off Team USA: “This is about what I will personally label ‘The Idiocy of Team USA Women’s Basketball.’ How dare you make this decision. It’s stupid.
“Caitlin Clark does not deserve a spot ahead of any of the players on this roster –… pic.twitter.com/BqM0AWdMZ6
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 10, 2024
What those defending Team USA’s decision have to say
There are many who are on the side of Team USA for their decision to trot out some of the best players.
Chiney Ogwumike, a former number one pick in the WNBA and someone who has been in the pipeline of Team USA through the U16 and U18 squads, said on “First Take” that she believes the mission of USA Basketball is “to construct the best basketball team in the world.”
“Team USA doesn’t select simply based off of fandom, especially when the world is catching up,” Ogwumike said.
The USA Women’s Basketball team is one of the most successful squads in the history of Olympic sports as the team has won seven straight gold medals. The team’s dominance indicates that it could throw a spot at a younger star like Clark, but Ogwumike mentioned that Team USA nearly lost to Belgium in the Olympic qualifying tournament earlier this year.
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Considering the knockout-style tournament in the latter stages of the Olympics, one slip up could mean disaster for the successful squad.
A lot of those defending the team’s decision have also pointed out that the gap between Clark with some of the players on the team in terms of skill is still in question.
Dan Patrick was one of the many who pointed out that three-time WNBA All-Star Arike Ogunbowale, who is averaging 26.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.5 assists, and 3.2 steals, did not make the roster and is perhaps a bigger “snub” when talking purely about skills.
“I don’t think Caitlin Clark is 1 of the 12 best players right now… If you want to have Caitlin on the roster then who are you taking off? And how do you tell that person ‘hey we want to have the popular girl on’?… If anyone has a gripe being snubbed it’s Arike Ogunbowale.” pic.twitter.com/Lhxwl0dvdR
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) June 10, 2024
What Caitlin Clark has said
Perhaps the most interesting part of this entire charade is that Clark has been respectful of the decision of Team USA.
It’s so 2024 sports media that Caitlin Clark has become one of the most controversial figures, despite having said or done absolutely zero controversial things.
— Ben Axelrod (@BenAxelrod) June 10, 2024
“I’m excited for some of the girls on the team,” Clark said. “I know it’s the most competitive team in the world, and I know it could’ve gone either way of me being on the team, me not being on the team.”
Clark even said she wasn’t disappointed at all that she missed the roster and that it was simply added motivation for her.
Related: WNBA players are fed up with the Caitlin Clark chaos
She also gave a visceral nod when asked if she was looking forward to using the month off between July and August as a time to rest her body. Clark has been competing since the NCAA Women’s Basketball season started in November, on top of all the other academic, commercial, and professional obligations she’s had in that time.
When it comes to not making the Olympic team, Caitlin Clark has nothing but praise for the 12 who made it: “it’s the toughest team to make.”
Clip: pic.twitter.com/LX59YA5Bzf
— Chloe Peterson (@chloepeterson67) June 9, 2024
Clark’s head coach Christie Sides did reveal that she received a text from her star guard after she was left off of Team USA saying, “hey coach, they woke a monster.”
Christie Sides on Caitlin Clark not making the Olympic team:
Clark told Sides “hey coach, they woke a monster” when telling her she didn’t make it. pic.twitter.com/02UwvuEiVj
— Chloe Peterson (@chloepeterson67) June 9, 2024
Other Past Team USA Women’s Basketball Snubs
Clark’s exclusion from the Team USA roster is certainly the most nationally covered, but it’s not the first time the team has faced criticism over a snub.
In 2016, two-time WNBA MVP Candace Parker was not placed on a team, which she said she believes was because of the team’s head coach Geno Auriemma. Parker went on to win the WNBA Championship that same season for the Los Angeles Sparks and was awarded Finals MVP
In the most recent Olympics in Tokyo, Nneka Ogumike, the sister of Chiney, and 2016 WNBA MVP was also not selected to the Team USA roster.
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