Caitlin Clark 'upset' with Olympic snub 'narrative'

Despite the United States women's basketball team winning its eighth-straight Olympic gold medal at the Paris Games last summer, a golden opportunity was thought to be missed by not including WNBA Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark in the American squad.

Even if Clark wasn't one of the team's key contributors, she would've brought some much-needed attention to women's basketball with the global spotlight on the Olympics. Well, the Indiana Fever star wanted no part of that marketing narrative.

In an interview with Time as the magazine's Athlete of the Year, Clark rejected the idea that she should've been selected to the Team USA squad simply because she's "somebody that can bring attention" to the sport.

“I love that for the game of women’s basketball. But at the same time, I want to be there because they think I’m good enough," Clark told Time's Sean Gregory. "I don’t want to be some little person that is kind of dragged around for people to cheer about and only watch because I’m sitting on the bench.

"That whole narrative kind of upset me. Because that is not fair. It’s disrespectful to the people that were on the team, that had earned it and were really good. And it’s also disrespectful to myself. ”

Clark told Gregory that she hoped her 3-point shooting would earn her a spot on the Olympic squad. "She knew was good enough to be on the team," Gregory wrote. Ultimately, Clark was not chosen and was disappointed by the news.

However, Clark understood just how difficult it was to select the best 12 players to represent the U.S. in France. Plus she knew her slow start to her rookie season "gave them a lot of reasons to keep me off the team."

"A point everybody was making was like, ‘Who are you taking off the team?’” Clark said. “And that was a tremendous point.”

The 22-year-old Clark will have plenty of chances to not only represent America but also lead Team USA, starting with the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

Caitlin Clark 'upset' with U.S. Olympic team snub 'narrative'

By Joe Lago | Dec 10, 2024