United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland defended Team USA’s snub of Caitlin Clark, calling the process that led to her exclusion “very disciplined.”
The rookie WNBA star was controversially cut from the USA Basketball team in June, with 42-year-old point guard Diana Taurasi claiming a spot in her place.
And while some were perplexed that Clark was not included on the 12-man roster, Hirshland is confident USA Basketball made the right decision.
“When you look at it all in its entirety, I would say that USA Basketball has had a very disciplined process with people who know more about the sport of women’s basketball than anyone else in the world,” she said at the Bloomberg Podcast on the Business of Sportsthrough Terrible announcement.
“And I trust that they know exactly what they’re doing. Women have won gold medals consistently and our hope is that they’ve done well once again and that we win another gold medal.”
Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark was not selected for the U.S. women’s basketball team.
Sarah Hirshland defended the “very disciplined” process that led to Clark’s snub from Team USA
Hirshland also mentioned the fact that Clark had not been part of the team’s qualifying run, calling the selection process a “multi-year process.”
“That team of people has to qualify for the Games. It’s not a given that the United States has qualified for the Games,” Hirshland added. “And that happens over a considerable period of time.”
Clark participated in the 2019 and 2021 FIBA Under-19 World Cup for the United States.
She was also named as a substitute for this summer’s squad before ultimately missing out.
After some initial growing pains in the WNBA, Clark has regained her form and has already set records in the W.
Team USA’s A’ja Wilson, Diana Taurasi and Chelsea Gray high-five during an exhibition match against Germany
She is already the Indiana Fever’s single-season assists leader and set a rookie record with 19 assists against the Dallas Wings.
Clark is averaging 17.1 points per game and a league-leading 8.2 assists in the league’s win during its Olympic break.
The U.S. women’s basketball team will open its Olympics on Monday against Japan after beating Germany in a warm-up game.
The Americans will later face Belgium and Germany in the group stage and will look to win their eighth consecutive gold medal.