Caitlin Clark was left out of USA’s Olympic basketball team amid concerns over her unique popularity with fans, according to reports.
Clark has brought unprecedented levels of attention to women’s basketball over the past year, having smashed numerous records in her iconic college career with Iowa before she was selected by the Indiana Fever with the first overall pick at this year’s WNBA Draft.
Despite her astonishing success, and solid start to life in the big leagues with Indiana, The Athletic claims she has not done enough to make it onto Team USA‘s women basketball roster for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
It is believed head coach Cheryl Reeve snubbed the 22-year-old as she is keen to prioritize experience heading into this summer’s event.
However, USA Today’s Christine Brennan has also revealed that Clark’s unprecedented fandom actually counted against her in the decision-making.
Caitlin Clark was left out of USA’s Olympic basketball team amid concerns over her popularity
According to two anonymous US basketball basketball veterans, concern over how Clark’s millions of fans would react to what they expected to be limited playing time on a stacked roster was one of the factors that led to her omission.
Team USA officials are said to have expressed fears over the potential backlash to her lack of minutes, which could prove detrimental to the team in the French capital.
A furious Dave Portnoy has led the criticism of Clark’s reported snub on social media, accusing ‘dumb women’ of leaving her out of USA’s Olympic roster this summer.
The Barstool Sports chief said in an explosive video rant on X: ‘This is about Caitlin Clark being left off the Olympic team… how dumb are these women?
‘I don’t know who’s making the decision, Women’s Olympic Committee or whatever it is. I don’t care if you don’t think Caitlin Clark talent-wise belongs on this team, even though she does put up 37 at 13 – the most points in the history of the league for a rookie.
‘None of it matters. These women – and I love women, I’m a pro-women guy – they complain, they cry about equal rights, equal wages, blah blah blah… Hey dummies, for the first time in the history of basketball
Reports claim Team USA officials were concerned over how Clark’s fans would react to what they expected to be limited playing time in Paris
As a result, the Fever rookie will reportedly miss out on Cheryl Reeve’s 12-player squad
‘You can argue that Caitlin Clark is the most popular, most puts-a**es-in-the-seats, single basketball player in the world. You can argue that. And you leave her off the Olympics team?’
Portnoy concluded the video by saying: ‘As it is, I would rather watch grass grow. I’d rather watch paint dry. I’d rather watch dirt be moved around, because Caitlin Clark’s not on the team.’
Clark was one of 14 players called up to a training camp with Team USA in April but was unable attend as it came in the midst of Iowa’s run to the NCAA championship game.
While at Iowa, she became the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division I basketball. She also rose to become among the biggest names in American sports.
Clark went on to be selected by the Fever with the No. 1 overall pick in April’s draft and has averaged 16.8 points on 37.3 percent shooting, 6.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game in 12 starts.
She scored a career-high 30 points on 7-of-13 three-point shooting in the Fever’s 85-83 win over the Washington Mystics on Friday night.
