Caitlin “Clark” continues to face discrimination on the court because she is white and straight. But another incident has left many scratching their heads. It was announced on Saturday that Caitlin Clark did not make the USA women’s Olympic basketball team for the Paris games.
Does this make sense to you?
Christine Brennan, a reporter for USA Today, says that the U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team is the “most dominant and successful” team in the world. The last time the team lost a match was in 1992. She explains that despite their success, U.S. basketball players are often overlooked in favor of other athletes, such as gymnasts and swimmers. Clark’s presence on the team would undoubtedly draw viewers, just as her games for the WNBA generated the highest ratings in the league.
You’ve probably heard of Caitlin before, but perhaps not of the player who, out of jealousy, body-checked Caitlin last week. The other player was so unknown to me that I couldn’t remember his name. Caitlin is a huge star. Her presence in the WNBA is likely the best opportunity for the league to grow its fanbase.
So why not Clark? Brennan says there is a reason for Clark’s exclusion.
Two other sources with years of experience in women’s basketball told USA TODAY Sports on Friday that concern about how Clark’s fans would react to limited playing time on a stacked team was a factor. This would be a shocking admission of how much tension this multi-million dollar sensation has caused among the old guard in women’s basketball. Clark signs autographs before and after each game for dozens of kids. Both people requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the issue.
Brennan does not seem to accept this explanation.
The press tribune at the Olympic women’s basketball gold medal games is always at least half empty, if not worse. Clark would certainly have changed that. She would have sparked interest not only among U.S. journalists but also reporters from around the globe.
Clark, 22 years old, has become a human gateway for women’s basketball to hundreds of thousands of girls, boys, women, and men. USA Basketball could have used her immense reach to promote the women’s sport in general, as well as its Olympic team for 2024. Clark’s selection would also have recognized the popularity of college basketball — as it has done in the past, when collegians such as Christian Laettner and Rebecca Lobo made Olympic teams for the United States.
Clark’s presence was also needed not just for women’s basketball, but for the entire Olympics. The summer Olympics that took place in Tokyo, 2021 were the least watched Olympics in history.
Sports Media Watch reported in 2014 that the Tokyo Summer Olympics had an average of 15.6 million viewers each night on NBC’s digital and television platforms. This was the lowest-rated Olympics ever, Summer or Winter. The previous Olympics had a low of 19.8 million viewers for the PyeongChang Games in 2018.
The Tokyo Games were the first Summer Olympics since Athens 2004 to draw fewer viewers. Caitlin’s performance could have given a boost to the entire Olympic Games, not just the women’s team.
What’s really the reason Clark was ignored? Does it have to do with the fact that she is straight, white, and from Iowa, which has caused so many people to object?
What reason is there for not believing it’s true?
