Caitlin Clark has broken her silence on reportedly being snubbed from the Team USA roster for this summer’s Olympics in Paris.
Despite her record-breaking college success at Iowa, and the impressive start to her WNBA career with the Indiana Fever, the Athletic
Instead, head coach Cheryl Reeve and the selection committee is said to favor veterans such as A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart.
The decision led to a furious reaction across American basketball and came at the end of a week that has seen Clark in the spotlight after she was brutally fouled by Chennedy Carter of the Chicago Sky.
Clark has now responded to the reports she’ll miss out and insists she’ll still be ‘rooting them on to win gold’.
Caitlin Clark has broken her silence on being snubbed by Team USA roster for the Olympics
‘I’m excited for the girls that are on the team,’ Clark said on Sunday.
‘I know it’s the most competitive team in the world and I know it could’ve gone either way, me being on the team or me not being on the team.
‘I’m excited for them, gonna be rooting them on to win gold. I was a kid that grew up watching the Olympics, it’ll be fun to watch them.
‘Honestly, no disappointment. I think it just gives you something to work for. It’s a dream, hopefully one day I can be there. I think it’s just a little bit more motivation. You remember that and hopefully when four years comes back around, I can be there.’
Clark also revealed that she was already aware she hadn’t been picked before the news broke.
‘They called me and let me know before everything came out, which was really respectful of them and I appreciated that,’ Clark continued.
‘They did the same for every girl that made the team or every girl that didn’t make the team. There’s a lot of players in the Olympic pool, so it wasn’t like I was the only one they had to call. They had to make quite a few calls.’
Barstool Sports chief Dave Portnoy said in an explosive video rant on X: ‘This is about Caitlin Clark being left off the Olympic team… how dumb are these women?
The Indiana Fever rookie will reportedly miss out on Cheryl Reeve’s 12-player squad
‘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, you have arguably the player who is the most popular player in the world.
‘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?
‘It’s not only a showcase for her, it’s for the sport and the other WNBA players that are on this team. How dumb, how braindead, how idiotic do the people running this thing have to be? It’s one thing after another with her.’
Dave Portnoy (left) is furious with Caitlin Clark (right) not expected to go to the Olympics
Jason Whitlock also reacted furiously, blaming ‘BLM-LGBTQIA+Silent P Alphabet Mafia bigots’ in a string of angry social media posts.
At first, Whitlock said he was pleased Clark would not compete in the upcoming Games, writing: ‘Am I the only one glad they left Caitlin Clark off the Olympic team? Now I don’t have to watch a bunch of angry, entitled feminists who hate America play hoops.’
But the target of Whitlock’s anger soon moved away from patriotism when he wrote: ‘They/Thems Hate Cait. End of story.’
He continued in a separate post: ‘Women’s basketball decision-makers are not dumb. They’ve been bullied by the BLM-LGBTQIA+Silent P Alphabet Mafia bigots.
‘Same cowardice that built George Floyd statues, turned Juneteenth into a federal holiday, codified same-sex marriage, allows ‘kid-friendly’ drag shows, let ‘Lia Thomas‘ swim… They keep making offers we don’t refuse.
‘The Mafia hates Cait. She refuses to publicly worship the Yas Queens and doesn’t scissor, so she sleeps with the fishes.’
While at Iowa, Clark became the all-time leading scorer in NCAA Division I basketball. She also rose to become among the biggest names in American sports.
Jason Whitlock blamed ‘BLM-LGBTQIA+ alphabet mafia’ for Clark’s surprise omission
She 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.
However, Reeve has reportedly favored experience in her roster selection as Team USA looks to defend their Gold in Paris.
Wilson, Stewart, Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner, Alyssa Thomas, Napheesa Collier, Jewell Loyd, Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young, Sabrina Ionescu, Chelsea Gray and Kahleah Copper are expected to be named to the squad, according to The Athletic.
The WNBA season will be taking a hiatus from July 21 to August 14 for the games with the Americans opening the tournament in Group C against Germany, Japan and Belgium.
The USA will kickstart its quest for another medal on July 29 against the Japanese.
Team USA is eyeing its eighth consecutive Olympic basketball gold medal – and 10th overall – in Paris.
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