WNBA star Caitlin Clark will not be participating in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris despite her rising popularity in the league, The Athletic (which is owned by The New York Times) first reported.
Clark was not able to attend the April national training camp in Cleveland after being invited because she was playing for the Iowa Hawkeyes during the Final Four, according to ESPN. She scored a career-high of 30 points during the game, the outlet reported.
The United States is expected to take five-time gold medalist Diana Taurasi and Phoenix Mercury’s Brittney Griner to Paris during the Summer Games, according to The Athletic.
The Olympic committee appeared to favor veterans to rookies — even those as accomplished as Clark, according to the outlet. Nine of the athletes reportedly chosen so far have Olympic experience, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Woo! The Tension Was Thick As Hell In Caitlin Clark Debate Between Stephen A. Smith And Monica McNutt)
Clark is shooting only 32.7 percent from three-point range and leads the WNBA with 67 turnovers, according to the outlet.
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, however, posted a video to X (formerly Twitter) in which he lambasted the decision as “idiotic.” He argued the women on the Olympic committee “complain and they cry about equal rights and equal wages.”
“For the first time … in the history of basketball you have arguably the player who is the most popular player in the world,” he said. “It’s not only a showcase for her, it’s for the sport and the other WNBA players that are on this team.”
Leaving Caitlin Clark off of the USA Women’s team for this Olympics is the dumbest thing @stoolpresidente has ever heard
pic.twitter.com/FlIX8L6NL5— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) June 8, 2024
Team USA has won every women’s basketball gold medal since the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, according to ESPN. The team is expected to play Japan, Belgium and Germany at the Olympics, the outlet reported.
