On The Stephen A. Smith Show, ESPN analysts, Andraya Carter and Stephen A. Smith got into a heated debate about Caitlin Clark‘s exclusion from the US Women’s Basketball Team for the Paris Olympics. Carter argued that taking an unproven rookie could cost the US a gold medal, but Smith refused to budge from his point that her inclusion would’ve been good for marketing. After Smith continuously rebuffed her point, Carter used her pet snake to explain it better.
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After showing Smith her pet snake on the video call, she said that no matter how much she assured him that the reptile was harmless, the veteran analyst would be too distracted to listen or pay attention because he had already made up his mind about it.
Carter used it as an analogy and explained that regardless of how valid Clark’s exclusion was based on sporting merit, analysts and fans are too distracted by the rookie’s drawing power. They refuse to understand that the team’s only goal in Paris is winning the gold medal. When Smith disregarded her argument to enquire about the snake, Carter responded,
“Stephen A., I just want to let you know, the way distractions work is they take away the point of the mission. And I just gave you a distraction (the snake) that took away the point of this mission (discussing Clark’s exclusion). The [selection] committee is trying to avoid that at all costs while they chase gold. Marketing is not the mission.”
Carter’s creativity accomplished her goal partially. Smith admitted that Clark’s inclusion would cause a distraction, as fans and media members would be fixated on the rookie rather than the team.
While the veteran analyst failed to fully grasp what his co-worker tried to explain, several other talking heads agreed that Clark’s exclusion was the right call.
Analysts back the decision to leave Caitlin Clark out of Team USA
While analysts like Smith have expressed their discontentment about Clark’s exclusion from the US Women’s Basketball Team for the 2024 Olympics, others believe it was the right call. Among them is Fox Sports’ Rachel Nichols, who argued that she didn’t deserve the spot on merit. She explained,
“It is harder to make the Team USA women’s team than it is the men, and here is why, not every single top player but nearly every top player who plays women’s basketball is American.”
Dan Patrick made a similar point, claiming nobody can justify why Clark deserves a spot over any of the 12 players selected to represent the country in Paris on sporting merit. The rookie’s exclusion has become the talking point in basketball, even taking precedence over the ongoing NBA Finals. The debate will continue to rage on, but won’t change the selection committee’s decision.
