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[Saba Sports News] Caitlin Clark is being excluded from the U.S. women’s basketball Olympic team for a surprising reason. A report published late Friday night confirmed that Clark would not be among the 12 team members.
According to USA Today’s Christine Brennan, Clark was left off partly because USA Basketball feared backlash from her millions of fans if she saw limited action during the Olympics. Essentially, Clark’s popularity is seen as a problem they couldn’t manage, leading to her exclusion.
Brennan highlighted that Clark’s presence would have significantly boosted media coverage for women’s basketball at the Olympics, which typically receives little attention.
This decision seems counterproductive, especially as the women’s basketball community pushes for better pay and travel conditions. Clark, a game-changing star, is sidelined instead of being showcased on the global stage, raising questions about the decision-making process in USA Basketball.