Sports World Reacts To Caitlin Clark Not Being On US Olympic Team: ‘Monumentally Dumb

The Indiana Fever rookie reportedly didn’t make the 12-player roster as Team USA is expected to win gold with a squad full of Olympic veterans.

Sports World Reacts To Caitlin Clark Not Being On US Olympic Team: ‘Monumentally Dumb’

The Indiana Fever rookie reportedly didn’t make the 12-player roster as Team USA is expected to win gold with a squad full of Olympic veterans.

Others making the women’s squad include Minnesota Lynx’s Napheesa Collier, Mercury’s Kahleah Copper, Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu, Seattle Storm’s Jewell Loyd, Connecticut Sun’s Alyssa Thomas as well as Aces’ Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young.

Clark ― the No. 1 pick in the 2024 WNBA draft who joined the league amid a notable growth in popularity ― would have been the fifth league rookie to make the Olympic team, a move that Sylvia Fowles, Candace Parker, Stewart and Taurasi all made in prior years

Sources told USA Today’s Christine Brennan that concern over how Clark’s massive fanbase would respond to “what would likely be limited playing time” on the veteran-heavy Team USA roster played a role in the process.

Team USA, which has won the gold medal at every summer Olympics since 1996, are expected to repeat in Paris.

Sports commentator Mike Lupica slammed the decision to leave Clark off the roster on social media, calling it “monumentally dumb.”

“It must be comforting to Caitlin Clark today that people who’ve been chirping at her since she got to the WNBA now think her being left off the Olympic team is really a good thing for her,” he wrote.

“The blowback on this young woman continues to be amazing.”

ESPN’s Linda Cohn, in a post responding to a Fever-Washington Mystics game that recently drew over 20,000 fans, called the decision a “lost opportunity.”

“All she does is grow the game, pack arenas, and set rookie records. What a short sighted decision,” Cohn wrote.

Jemele Hill wrote that Clark not being on the Team USA roster “is actually a good thing” for her.

“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 wrote.