Gilbert Arenas spoke on his ‘Gil’s Arena’ podcast recently about Caitlin Clark being left out of the Team USA squad for the 2024 Olympics. He noted that fans would have been upset about Clark’s usage had she been selected, and losing those fans with the snub would affect their bottom line rather than Team USA’s play.
Arenas added that Clark, along with Cameron Brink and Angel Reese should have been picked, but if Team USA didn’t want Clark, they don’t have to bother about fans being upset because they won’t be watching the games.
“If the goal is to win gold, to be honest, you guys lost one game since you guys have ever been in the Olympics. You’re saying millions of people will be mad if she doesn’t play a lot? That means a million people won’t be viewing if she’s not on the team. Do you think you can sell more jerseys without her or with her? So for you guys as a group, what is very important? This is not men and women.”
“Men are thinking business, you guys are thinking emotional. I would have had Her, Brink, and Angel on there. I need all of them because all are moving. The fact that they said it out loud but didn’t think about it in reverse. Millions of her fans will be upset. Well, Millions of her fans won’t watch if she’s not there. Millions, so I don’t give a f*ck if they are watching it and buying and complaining. No, I don’t care about that part, let them complain.”
“You’re saying millions of people will be mad if [Caitlin Clark] doesn’t play a lot? Well, that means a million people won't be viewing if she’s not on the team… Men are thinking business. You guys are thinking [emotionally].”
— Gilbert Arenas 😳pic.twitter.com/PZ59Da7Xwm
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 10, 2024
Arenas makes some valid points about Team USA’s success at the Olympics. But he doesn’t exactly give a reasonable explanation for her absence from the team. Clark will definitely have opportunities to play at the Olympics in the future, but her snub has left fans quite upset.
Caitlin Clark Not Upset By Olympic Team Snub
Caitlin Clark was asked about being left off the Team USA roster for the Olympics. Clark gave a classy response, saying that he understood why she didn’t get the chance, would be rooting for the team, and that she would be using this snub as motivation for the future.
“I’m excited for the girls on the team. I know it’s the most competitive team in the world, and I know it could have gone either way – maybe you’re on the team, maybe not on the team. So, I’m excited for them. I’m going to be rooting them on to win gold. I was the kid that grew up watching the Olympics. It’ll be fun watching…”
“Honestly, no disappointment. It just gives you something to work for. That’s a dream. Hopefully one day I can be there. I think it’s just a little more motivation. You remember that. And hopefully, when four years come back around, I can be there.”
“Yeah, they called me and let me know before everything came out, which is really respectful of them and I appreciated them. They did the same for every single girl on the team, every girl that didn’t make the team, there’s a lot of players in the Olympic pool. It wasn’t like I was the only one they had to call, they had to make quite a few calls.”
Clark has adjusted well to life in the WNBA, averaging 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 6.3 assists. However, there seems to be some active resentment among veteran players in the WNBA toward Clark for the attention that she garners from the media. Former WNBA star Monica McNutt even admitted to being jealous of Clark’s massive Nike contract.
Clark is still very young and will have plenty of opportunities to represent Team USA at the Olympics. But for now, she will be watching from home, rooting the team on.
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