Ever since the US Women’s Basketball team announced its decision to exclude Caitlin Clark from their roster for the Paris Olympics, USA Basketball has been on the receiving end of a barrage of criticism for their decision. From fans to top draw analysts like Shannon Sharpe, the collective sentiment among all has been that excluding the Indiana Fever rookie is a chance missed by the Women’s Basketball team to grow the game.
Advertisement
Shannon in particular was extremely critical of the decision and went on a rant on the latest edition of ‘First Take’ to let his thoughts known. The former NFL star first acknowledged that Clark is not even close to the level of the elites of the WNBA like A’Ja Wilson, but what she brings is representation. Sharpe argued that being the most popular women’s basketball, Caitlin should have been on the team to get maximum eyeballs in women’s basketball.
“Will she [Caitlin Clark] ever be as accomplished as a Stewie or as an A’Ja Wilson? I believe those two obviously they’re slam dunks, they’re the two best players in the WNBA hands down, and it’s not even close… but are we really trying to grow the game because this is the most popular woman’s basketball player in the world, and it ain’t close.”
Sharpe then with an example conveyed that Caitlin Clark’s popularity is not a trend, but it is a once-in-a-generation hype that the WNBA has never seen. The popular analyst noted how the rookie’s presence results in an average attendance of 17,000 while her absence results in an average attendance of just 7,000. Sharpe argued that this is a popularity level that had the potential to penetrate the game into new demographics.
“They had to move the Mystic game to an NBA arena… Tell me when was a WNBA game has had to be moved because of a woman player, just once, just tell me one because I know in her attendance, she’s averaging about 17,000, all the other WNBA games in which she’s not a participant averages about seven.”
The baffling nature of the US Basketball really stumped Sharpe at the end. He then rhetorically wondered if the people in charge really wanted to grow the game. Because if they did, they would have taken Caitlin to Paris. But considering they haven’t Shannon believes that all the talks by the US Basketball to grow the game is simply fluff.
“So are we really trying to grow the game? Is that what we’re really trying to do? Or are we just talking about how we’re trying to grow the game and just bullj*b?”
Fellow analyst Stephen A. Smith agreed wholeheartedly with Shannon and went on an even aggressive rant against the US Women’s Basketball Team.
Stephen A. Smith Calls Out The “Idiocy” Of Team USA Women’s Basketball
Smith first noted that Team USA since the past seven editions of the Olympics has been winning the gold in the female basketball category. So from a purely sporting point of view, the US has the most luxury to carry a player like Caitlin Clark for simply diversity and representation points.
It’s no secret that basketball in America has a heavy representation of men and women of color. And the fact that the women’s basketball team missed the opportunity to allow diverse representation in the team baffled the analyst. He thus labeled the decision as stupid.
“You know good and damn well with or without Caitlin Clark they gonna probably win the gold again, that’s not what this conversation is about. This is about what I will personally label [as] the idiocy of Team USA Women’s Basketball… How dare you make this decision? It’s stupid!”
Hearing the duo’s rants would make a layman wonder if Caitlin Clark deserved the spot over others for sporting merit thus making the ones who made the team unworthy. Stephen A. Smith acknowledged the possibility of this line of thought and assured all the players on the squad that they fully deserved their spots on merit.
But unfortunately, the Olympic squad isn’t there for the game. Smith as argued above very well made it clear that women’s basketball in America is at a place where it is a given that they are the best in the world by a country mile. So in these circumstances, the team should be taking the liberty to grow the game via representation and diversity, argued Smith.
“I want all the ladies on this squad to know [that] every single one of y’all are deserving of it [the spot], Caitlin Clark does not deserve a spot ahead of any of the players on this roster [and that’s] okay if we’re talking just basketball… You know we’re not. You know we’re not.”
All said both Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe made compelling points against the US Women’s Basketball team for their questionable decision. Regardless, what’s done is done. Clark on the flipside should not lose hope as it’s already evident from her career so far that she has it in her to be a multiple-time Olympic gold winner. She just needs to be patient.
