The US women’s basketball team was brutally attacked by a Caitlin Clark fan before their first game at the Olympics in Paris.
WNBA sensation Clark was controversially excluded from the star-studded US squad currently in Paris competing for gold.
Clark has taken the WNBA by storm since being drafted by the Indiana Fever. Her presence has sparked an explosion of interest in the league and many thought she should have gone to the Olympics.
However, the selection committee decided to pass on Clark in favor of more experienced players who have proven they know how to win on the big stage.
Despite that, one Clark fan took the opportunity to poke fun at the Americans as they prepared to play Japan on Monday.
The US women’s basketball team was brutally attacked by a Caitlin Clark fan in Paris on Monday
The fan held up a sign reading ‘they need Caitlin Clark to beat us’ before their match with Japan.
The fan, wearing a Nets and Lakers jersey, held up a sign that read: “You need Caitlin Clark to beat us.”
The poster was seen by A’Ja Wilson, Brittney Griner and other American players while practicing their shots.
The fan signal was, unfortunately for Japan, inaccurate, as the Americans began their quest for another gold medal with a comfortable 102-76 victory.
This comes a day after former Team USA women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley said Clark’s form in recent months could have earned her a roster spot if the decision was made later.
Clark had played in 12 career games when the roster for Team USA fell through, leaving the Iowa star to watch the Olympics from home.
Clark was controversially left off the U.S. Olympic team despite making waves in the WNBA.
But when asked about Clark by NBC’s Mike Tirico, Staley believes that if the roster decision had been made closer to the Olympics, the Fever star might have been included.
“As a committee member, you have the responsibility to assemble the best team of players, the best talent,” Staley said.
‘Caitlin is just a rookie in the WNBA. She wasn’t playing badly, but she wasn’t playing like she is now.
“If we had to do it all over again, the way she’s playing, she would be highly considered to make the team because she’s playing so far above a lot of others and shooting the ball extremely well.
“She’s an elite passer. She’s got a great basketball IQ and, in a couple of months, she’s got a little bit more experience in the pro game… than she did two months ago.”