The Washington Mystics moved Friday's game against the Indiana Fever from their normal 4,200-seat arena to the 20,356-seat Capital One arena. Tickets for the extra 16,000 seats sold out in 30 minutes.
The Mystics are winless in the WNBA this season. So why the immense interest in Friday's game?
Caitlin Clark.
The Fever rookie, easily the best thing to happen to women's basketball in recent memory, hit for 30 points in the Fever's victory over the Mystics.
On Saturday, the Team USA women's basketball roster for this summer's Paris Olympic Games was announced.
Clark is not on the roster.
But America-hating Britney Griner is.
Kayce Smith of Barstool Sports wrote on X: "Team USA deciding to leave the biggest superstar at home for THE OLYMPICS is the dumbest shit ever. Caitlin Clark is quite literally selling out NBA arenas AND breaking WNBA records. But sure! why make Team USA more watched, cooler and have infinitely more jerseys sold???"
Legacy sports media passed the omission of Clark off as acceptable because she supposedly would have had little playing time on a veteran-heavy Olympic roster.
USA Today’s Christine Brennan reports that fear of fan backlash due to the minimal number of minutes Clark would have played factored heavily into the decision to leave her off the roster:
“Two other sources, both long-time U.S. basketball veterans with decades of experience in the women’s game, told USA TODAY Sports Friday that concern over how Clark’s millions of fans would react to what would likely be limited playing time on a stacked roster was a factor in the decision making,” Brennan wrote. “If true, that would be an extraordinary admission of the tension that this multi-million-dollar sensation, who signs autographs for dozens of children before and after every game, has caused for the old guard of women’s basketball. The two people spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.”
Others said the decision to leave Clark off the roster was short-sighted to put it mildly.
It’s unbelievable how much both the WNBA and USA basketball have botched every step of the way with Caitlin Clark.
They’ve been handed the eyeballs and attention they’ve wanted for decades but because they don’t like who’s bringing them, they refuse to accept them. — Brandon Walker (@BFW) June 8, 2024
Why leaving Caitlin Clark off the 2024 US Olympic women’s basketball team matters, a lot. I’ve reported on the team at every Olympics since 1984. I’ve watched the stunning lack of coverage & lack of interest every time. Here are four sections of my Feb column on this exact topic: pic.twitter.com/MjwqeVQdR8
— Christine Brennan (@cbrennansports) June 8, 2024
Christian Laettner made the Dream Team. Caitlin Clark can’t make the women’s Olympic basketball team? What mostly pays for the Olympics — oh wait — revenue generated from broadcasting partners. As in TV. As in Caitlin is TV GOLD. Opportunity wasted.
— Colin Cowherd (@ColinCowherd) June 8, 2024
I don’t know enough about USA women’s Olympic basketball to know if Caitlin Clark’s omission is a snub. I do know that, right now, she would be the only reason I would remotely care about USA women’s Olympic basketball. https://t.co/IAP8bulQXg
— Alexi Lalas (@AlexiLalas) June 8, 2024
