The AP reports that Caitlin Clark has been left off the Olympic women's basketball roster. Why even follow the sport after college? The US's most popular player allowing WNBA teams to move their games from 4,000 seat arena to selling out 20,000 seat arena only when she is in town isn't going to be on our Olympic roster even though she has elevated the sport like no one else in history. The people who control women's basketball don't like fans and certainly don't want to grow their game.

Edit: the story has been edited with some spin trying to justify the why, but that isn't how Olympic participants are chosen. That is why there is no big hoop de hoo about the Olympic trials anymore. They are chosen on a holistic look now not just some single day or weekend competition.

https://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/40304459/reports-caitlin-clark-usa-basketball-national-team-roster

It's as if USA basketball and the WNBA don't actually want people to watch women's basketball.

Imagine the outrage if she were a black woman.

This is 100% about trying to keep the other ladies on the team happy. 100%. Of course, they'll tell you that's ridiculous but anyone paying attention knows that's exactly it.

I can see the argument, looking at WNBA stats alone. But I highly doubt the other guards are drawing this kind of defense:

Kelsey Mitchell was an All-Star last year, and shot 40% from three in the 2022/2023 seasons.

Washington leaves her wide open in the corner b/c they’ve got three players focused on denying Caitlin Clark the ball. That’s crazy 😂

pic.twitter.com/I41rklyPCf

— Tanner Lafever (@TannerLafever) June 8, 2024

I do not think selection to the Olympic Team is based on popularity or on race.
Nneka Ogwumike who is black was the 2016 WNBA MVP and was the MVP of the World Games and she was left off the 2016 and 2021 US Olympic Teams. Arike Ogunboware also black, was the MVP of Notre Dame's national championship winning team in 2018, and she is ranked second in scoring in the WNBA this year and is not in the 2024 Olympic team which is really puzzling.

I am sick and tired of Diana T.

Jsaba7 said:

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I do not think selection to the Olympic Team is based on popularity or on race.
Nneka Ogwumike who is black was the 2016 WNBA MVP and was the MVP of the World Games and she was left off the 2016 and 2021 US Olympic Teams. Arike Ogunboware also black, was the MVP of Notre Dame's national championship winning team in 2018, and she is ranked second in scoring in the WNBA this year and is not in the 2024 Olympic team which is really puzzling.

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I agree. But what is occurring is not good for the sport. The same thing happen with USA Women's Soccer. The leadership of these organizations gave control of the teams away about a decade ago to a group of players (many whom happen to be noisy activists). The team isn't selected how it should be. It is selected to make this group happy. This is not good for the sport to be stuck with this group until they relinquish control after it was already too late.

Bucketrunner said:

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I am sick and tired of Diana T.

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She will be 42 years old during the Olympics. Imagine if the 40 year olds hadn't gotten out of the way when she was selected for her first Olympic team in 2004 at the age of 21.

We would have gotten 43 year old Sue Bird this year too if she hadn't retired last year.

mjschiller said:

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Racist

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19% of the WNBA is white
33% of the US Olympic team is white

Racism seems like a real reach.

33%? What is your definition of white.

Dawn Staley is a cold b from hell.

I am going to laugh when it's this time next year and no one is talking about this stupid league. These idiots are literally ruining this once in a lifetime opportunity

We have won 7 golds in a row at the Olympics. Our college basketball system is a feeder like no other. The US invests so much more than most other countries via Title IX. We would win gold if we sent players 10-30 to the Olympics.

The most experienced team ever sent to World Cup Soccer by the USA is in the photos below. I wonder if anything besides "experience" matters?

Taurasi was given the opportunity to be on the Olympic team at 21 years old. Caitlin Clark can only hope to be included in the next Olympics at the age of 26.

Every Olympic team should have a blend of experience and the next generation. The bottom lime is talent with the new talent ready to be the "experience" and "talent" next time around. USA women's soccer and women's basketball gave away the keys instead of selecting the best players each time around. It has been great for those players but not for the sport.

I haven't watched a minute of women's Olympic basketball, ever. There is no reason to start now.

Caitlin Clark has been part of USA basketball (junior and senior programs) since she was 16. She was MVP of the 2021 FIBA Under-19 Women's Basketball World Cup leading the US to gold. She was 1 of 14 players, and the only college player, to receive an invitation from the US national team to the final training camp for the 2024 Summer Olympics. She did not attend as it occurred during the same week that she was playing with Iowa in the Final Four of the 2024 NCAA tournament. The selection committee stated that it would follow her performance in the NCAA tourney and early 2024 WNBA season to help determine its final 2024 Olympic roster. She apparently didn't do enough for them.

Bucketrunner said:

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WNBA heading back to irrelevancy.

I haven't cared about the olympic team since they couldn't respect the national anthem in Reed arena several years ago.

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Has it ever been relevant…?

17,000 people showed up to watch her game Sunday here in Phoenix.