WNBA star Caitlin Clark recently received the disappointing news that she did not make the Team USA Olympic basketball team roster. Since the news broke, critics have argued that Clark was snubbed, while Team USA had missed a “golden opportunity” by not including her.
Sports reporter Michele Tafoya argued that the women’s Olympic team completely “whiffed” by excluding the Indiana Fever rookie. “They whiffed here,” she said during an appearance on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.”
Tafoya emphasized her belief that Clark should’ve made the Olympic team. She stated, “Every woman on that team is deserving. And there are also other women out there who didn’t get picked who are deserving, and I think Caitlin Clark is one of them.”
According to Tafoya, who was a former Olympic broadcaster and has spent extensive time reporting on various sports, maintained that Clark’s unquestionable talent paired with her immense popularity should have guaranteed her a sport on the roster ahead of the Olympics in Paris this summer.
Tafoya pointed out that Clark is drawing unprecedented attention to women’s basketball, pulling in a new audience. She claimed this would have benefited the women’s Olympic team. “People are discovering women’s basketball for the first time – for many, many people because of Caitlin Clark. She would have been a boon for this Olympic team,” she said to Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade. “This would have meant so much for the ratings of the women’s Olympic basketball stuff. All of it.”
Clark addressed not being included on Team USA during a recent press conference, explaining that she harbors no disappointment and looks forward to earning a spot on the Olympic squad in the future.
“Honestly, no disappointment,” she said. “I think it just gives you something, something to work for. That’s a dream. Hopefully, one day I can be there, and I think it’s just a little more motivation. You remember that, and hopefully in four years, when four years comes back around, I can be there.”
Kilmeade asserted that while Clark has had a “solid start” to her WNBA career, he was skeptical if that meant she was a “dominant” player in the league. Tafoya refuted this claim, citing that Clark is already setting records.
“Are you saying her performance the other night with 30 points and seven threes to tie a rookie record does not show that she’s a promising pro?” Tafoya pointed out, highlighting Clark’s game against the Washington Mystics over the weekend.
“You can sit her on the pine, you can have her the 12th person on your roster. People will still tune in to see if she gets on that floor, to see if she gets to play. These women on the U.S. team are so dominant that you can win with almost any 12 that they decided to pick,” Tafoya added. “You do not lose anything by putting her on this roster. The women’s game needs this woman.”
Since joining the WNBA, Caitlin Clark has been the subject of intense controversy on and off the court. She has received aggressive fouls from fellow players while critics have called out her race and sexuality as a straight white woman.
Featured image credit: By John Mac – https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmac612/53558910406/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=145963861
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