The head of 2028 L.A. Games claims that Caitlin Clark’s rejection was a “missed opportunity” for women’s basketball.
Caitlin Clark, the brightest young star in the WNBA, won’t compete for Team USA at this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris. The president of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee said the snub marked a “missed opportunity” for women’s basketball.
“I think it’s a missed opportunity because she’s clearly a generational talent at a time when the world was ready for it,” Casey Wasserman, president of the Los Angeles Games committee, told USA Today. “There have been incredible talents in the world, shame on all of us, the world wasn’t in a place to embrace that,
The No. 1 pick in this spring’s WNBA draft has brought record-breaking crowds and unprecedented attention to women’s basketball. Her Indiana Fever routinely sell out arenas at home and on the road, causing rival teams to move games to bigger stadiums to accommodate more fans.
Clark has had some bumps so far in her WNBA career. The NCAA’s all-time leading scorer still posts respectable scoring and assist numbers, but her efficiency has struggled. The Iowa product leads the league in turnovers this season.
“It would be irresponsible for us to talk about [Clark] in a way other than how she would impact the play of the team,” Jen Rizzotti, chair of women’s basketball for Team USA, told reporters earlier this month. “It wasn’t the purview of our committee to decide how many people would watch … It was our purview to create the best team we could.”
Team USA officials also noted the 22-year-old Clark lacks international experience. An established group that includes stars like Diana Taurasi, A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart will lead the team in its hunt for an eighth consecutive gold medal.
“I understand both sides of the issue but purely as an opportunity to showcase a generational talent to the world, clearly,” Wasserman said. “I certainly hope [Clark] will be at the 2028 Olympics. She’s a great star and the future of American basketball is bright.”
