Caitlin Clark Undeserving of Team USA Spot According to Cincinnati Bengals Legend

While Caitlin Clark has yet to play a full season in the WNBA, many fans were still outraged at her omission from the Team USA women’s basketball team.

Many claimed that Clark should’ve been given a spot on the team simply because of the eyes she would’ve brought to the sport on such a large stage. Others claim that Clark has already done enough to prove that she is good enough to be on the team despite not yet playing a full WNBA season.

Reports surfaced that the potential outrage from Clark not receiving adequate playing team while on the team factored into her omission, but U.S. women’s national team committee chair Jen Rizzotti disputed that report in an article from The Athletic.

Rizzotti disputed a USA Today report that cited two long-time USA Basketball veterans stating the committee’s “concern about how Clark’s millions of fans would react to what would likely be limited playing time on a stacked roster was a factor in the decision making.”

“What people have to remember is that the committee does not determine playing time,” she said. “The committee does not tell Cheryl who to start, who to play. Our job is to put together the best team. Playing time can’t come into consideration because it’s not our purview.”

Many fans were outraged that Caitlin Clark was not put on the Team USA women’s basketball team

Many sports analysts and fans took to social media to express their displeasure with the omission of Clark from Team USA.

Clark would’ve undoubtedly brought more eyes to women’s basketball at the Olympics than ever before, but the committee that picks the team does not account for viewership or income generation when determining who should play for the team as Rizzotti mentioned in the article from The Athletic.

“Certainly the success that Caitlin had in college in addition to the way that she’s played in the beginning parts of the (WNBA) season was taken into consideration as we talked about this roster, but I think out of respect for the process, we tried to make sure we upheld our integrity when it came to selecting the roster. Marketability, popularity, TV viewership, jersey sales was not something that we were supposed to be measuring.”

Still, many fans think growing the sport of women’s basketball should take precedence leading to many outraged fans on social media. Other fans point to her ups and downs as a rookie in the WNBA as evidence that the committee made the right decision.

Legendary Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason joined in with those saying that Clark hadn’t done enough to earn a spot on Team USA.

Esiason, who was the NFL MVP in 1988, has competed at the highest level of his sport, but he has never had any involvement with an Olympic sport as an athlete. In an article from The Spun, Esiason explained why he thought Clark was undeserving.

“For general interest and financial interest, it totally makes sense (to include Clark), but the games are in Paris, they’re not here,” Esiason said on his WFAN radio show in New York. “I’m sure that there’s some international following that she has, but it’s not as much as it is here. Quite frankly, she doesn’t deserve to be on the Olympic team other than the fact that she’s the most popular player in the country.”

Clark herself said in the same article that she was not disappointed and looked forward to Team USA going for the gold.

“I’m excited for the girls that are on the team,” she said. “I’m excited for them, going to be rooting them on to win gold. I was a kid who grew up watching the Olympics and it’ll be fun watching.”

She added: “Honestly, no disappointment. It just gives me something to work for.”