Sports
Team USA Snubs Caitlin Clark From 2024 Olympics “It’s a Big Mistake”
Caitlin Clark, the rookie making waves in the WNBA, will not be joining the US national team in the Paris Olympics, according to sources. According to NBC News, sources close to the issue confirmed that the all-time college scoring leader will stay at home.
According to the insider, who spoke confidentially with the broadcaster, the team will consist of 12 veterans, which means Clark will not be present.
One of the women believed to be joining the squad is Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner, who was held in Russia for 10 months on alleged drug possession charges before being repatriated to the United States in a prisoner exchange in December.
According to the source, A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces and Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty are also considered likely teammates.
The roster of players that will travel to Paris has yet to be formally revealed by Team USA.
WNBA’s rookie of the month
Clark just had the best game of her professional career, scoring 30 points and making seven three-pointers in Friday night’s game between the Indiana Fever and the Washington Mystics. Despite her laurels (she was voted the WNBA’s rookie of the month in May), Clark, like any other rookie, is still working on her game.
In her brief professional career, she has made only 32.7% of her three-point shots and has allowed the most turnovers in the league, averaging five per game.
Even still, some are perplexed by the team’s alleged decision not to invite her along.
In a post on X, Bartsool Sports founder Dave Portnoy described the decision as the “dumbest thing I’ve ever heard”.
“How dumb are these people?” Portnoy asked. “Never grumble about women’s pay again. Make that team fly commercially. “Unreal dumb.” He described Clark’s games as “appointment TV.”
“I’d rather watch grass grow and paint dry. “I’d rather see dirt moved around because Caitlin Clark isn’t on the team,” he remarked. “If she’s there, it’s appointment television. You people, whoever did this, take your brain, put it in a museum, and study how stupid you are.”
According to the New York Post, Justin Termine, a Sirus XM analyst, believes it would be dumb not to feature one of the sport’s most talked-about stars at a time when the league is attempting to increase viewership.
“Even if she stinks, which she doesn’t, that’s horrible vision,” he wrote.
Colin Cowherd, a Fox Sports host, agreed, suggesting that by not include Clark, the Olympics and league were leaving money on the table.
“Christian Laettner made the Dream Team.” Can’t Caitlin Clark make the women’s Olympic basketball team? Cowherd written. “What largely pays for the Olympics — oh wait, revenue produced by broadcasting partners. As in television. As in, Caitlin is TV GOLD. “Opportunity wasted.”
Cheryl Reeve, the Minnesota Lynx coach who will also coach Team USA this summer, was reportedly the one who decided the team should be mostly made up of veterans.
According to the New York Post, she was also critical of the WNBA’s current focus on Clark during the preseason.
However, raising buzz by focusing on a bright newbie to basketball has before proven successful; LeBron James was making waves in the NBA world before he even graduated high school.
Why excluding Caitlin Clark from Team USA is a mistake
If Clark had played for Team USA, more people would have watched them on the court. That is undeniable, but to what extent? The 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics were the least viewed ever, thanks in part to the postponement of the events due to COVID-19.
Given the rise in women’s collegiate basketball and WNBA ratings, this would be an excellent opportunity to expose the women’s game to the rest of the globe, even if Clark was only a role participant. It limits the game’s potential for further expansion, no matter how minor.
On April 7, four-time Team USA gold winner Lisa Leslie told Sporting News that Team USA needs to find a way to get Clark on the roster.
Leslie was a member of the 1996 Olympic team, which competed a year after the WNBA began play. That team, which also included Sheryl Swoopes, Dawn Staley, and Rebecca Lobo, had an impact on the game’s growth. It was the women’s version of the Team USA men’s basketball Dream Team of 1992.
“I never want to forget about the history of women’s basketball,” Leslie told Sporting News. “It was our time.” We got the WNBA started, and now it’s time for the women. Caitlin Clark’s time has come. We, the veterans, are supportive and proud.
Clark’s moment in the Olympic spotlight will have to wait. In the present tense, this will lead to more discussion about why she was left off, and make no mistake: everyone will have an opinion. Is it truly about performance? Is it jealousy? Politics? All of this is coming, but it will not solve the question.
Why would a game that has been striving for growth – and found it – overlook its finest up-and-coming rookie in the Olympics? If the answers involve paying dues or appreciating veterans who came before Clark and incoming fans who need to know their position, it’s a self-destructive combination that will only drive those viewers away. Gymnastics, track and field, swimming, and a variety of other sports are on offer at the Olympics. That is precisely what they will do. Nobody loves being advised how to watch sports when the only goal should be enjoyment.
Clark is an entertaining player on the court. She has accomplished this through 3-pointers, full-court passes, and an exuberance that has brought new young fans to the game. The viewership speaks for itself.
Caitlin Clark, like Shaquille O’Neal and the Dream Team, will be a footnote on this team regardless of whether they win or lose. Why wasn’t he chosen over Christian Laettner? It didn’t matter, but it would’ve been interesting to witness. We are still discussing it today.
You’ll have to wait until 2028 in Los Angeles to witness Clark on the Olympic stage. There are many things to consider, but unneeded is at the top of the list.
Source: Sporting News, AOL
LAUSANNE, Switzerland Russia announced on Saturday that ten of its wrestlers, who were awarded neutral slots at the Paris Olympics, will refuse to compete.
The Russian Wrestling Federation said that its executives, coaches, and athletes met and “came to a unanimous decision — to refuse to participate in the Olympic Games.”
The wrestlers would have been the greatest number of Russians in any single discipline competing in Paris under the International Olympic Committee’s Individual Neutral Athlete policy, which allowed some athletes from Russia and its partner Belarus to compete during the conflict in Ukraine.
Olympics |
Russia Says It Won’t Send Wrestlers To The Paris Olympics As Neutrals
The IOC earlier stated that it invited ten Russian wrestlers to the Paris Olympics, and their website lists nine of them as having consented to compete, with one declining.
The IOC waited to respond to a request for comment on Saturday’s announcement by the Russian wrestling federation, whether it believed the wrestlers were under any pressure to decline and whether it would support any wrestler who wanted to compete despite the federation’s desires.
The federation opposed the IOC’s selection of wrestlers to invite. It stated that Russians had qualified for up to 16 slots at the Paris Olympics rather than 10 and that six of those invited were “far from the status of Russian team leaders.” The organization revealed the names of elite Russian wrestlers who did not receive invitations and stated that the Olympic event would be devalued.
“Any sane person understands that the status of the Olympic Games as the most significant sporting event is being questioned, and wrestling competitions without Russian athletes will be incomplete, and the champions will not receive the satisfaction of winning the Olympic tournament,” according to the statement.
The IOC earlier stated that it would only invite Russian and Belarusian athletes who had no ties to the security services or military and had not publicly supported the war. They would compete in neutral clothing, not under their country flag.
Some Russian sportsmen and authorities have welcomed competing in the Paris Olympics under such conditions, while others have called for boycotts. Unlike other Russian sports bodies, the wrestling federation sent athletes to compete in qualifying contests.
Olympics | NBC Image
Russia Says It Won’t Send Wrestlers To The Paris Olympics As Neutrals
Last Monday, the Russian Judo Federation announced that its board had not sent any participants to Paris. Its statement did not explain what its athletes believed. In an e-mailed statement to The Associated Press on Tuesday, the IOC said it was awaiting a “individual reply” from the judo athletes. The IOC website displays one Russian judo competitor as having accepted an invitation.
As of Sunday, the IOC website identified 23 Russian competitors from seven sports who have accepted invitations to the Paris Olympics, including the wrestlers. Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion, is one of six tennis players who the IOC claims have accepted.
SOURCE – (AP)
The World Boxing Council (WBC) has dismissed Ryan Garcia after he repeatedly used racist and discriminatory rhetoric against Black people and Muslims during a social media broadcast, according to the Associated Press.
“Exercising my authority as president of the WBC, I am hereby expelling Ryan Garcia from any activity with our organization,” WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman wrote on X, once known as Twitter.
Ryan Garcia | Talk Sport Image
Ryan Garcia Expelled By World Boxing Council Following Racist Remarks
“We reject any form of discrimination.”
Garcia issued an apology to X but has subsequently deleted the tweet.
“I was trolling, and I want all the killing to stop,” Garcia wrote, according to the Associated Press. “I love everyone sorry if I offended you.”
CNN has contacted Garcia’s representatives for comment but has not heard back.
Garcia’s family stated his suspension from the WBC, blaming the boxer’s mental health difficulties, according to ESPN.
“Our family unequivocally does not support any statements [Garcia] has made regarding race or religion – these do not reflect who Ryan truly is and how he was raised,” the statement read.
Ryan Garcia | Boxing News Image
Ryan Garcia Expelled By World Boxing Council Following Racist Remarks
“Those who know Ryan vouch to this truth. Ryan has been upfront about his ongoing struggle with mental health over the years, and as a family, we are committed to assuring and supporting him to seek the appropriate assistance to navigate this difficult time and address both his immediate and long-term well-being.”
Sulaiman stated in his tweet that the WBC has made “multiple attempts” to assist Garcia with mental health and substance misuse.
SOURCE – CNN
LONDON — For the first time this year, the All England Club is monitoring social media in an effort to help protect Wimbledon players from harassment.
“This will not appear in the public domain at all. We are not going to make a big deal out of it. However, we are scrolling social media for this type of stuff, which implies that we can obtain information we did not previously have. “We’re not just relying on what the player claims has happened to them,” tournament director Jamie Baker said Friday. “Also, if there is something of concern, that’s when our security (team) … can help do something about it.”
Wimbledon | AP News Image
Wimbledon Is Monitoring Social Media To Try To Protect Players From Cyberbullying
Baker compared the new endeavor to what the French Tennis Federation did during the French Open last year when it began paying a business to supply players with software that employs artificial intelligence to prevent unpleasant remarks.
“Tennis is doing a lot more of this now, so I think in general, for the athletes, it’s really positive that we’re taking this step,” said Baker, who used to be a player.
He said AI plays a role in the All England Club’s efforts in this area, but people also help monitor what’s being said about competitors online during the two-week Grand Slam competition, which ends on July 14.
Players can sign up for the service and request full scans of what is being shared on social media. Players report that messages might include rage expressed by gamblers who lost money on a specific match, racial insults, and even death threats.
“The basis of it is if they’ve got anything that we think is a concern or worth flagging, ultimately, it’s engaging with the player,” according to Baker. “The benefit of having it is, you do have the ability to … officially register what’s going on.”
Wimbledon | AP news Image
Wimbledon Is Monitoring Social Media To Try To Protect Players From Cyberbullying
Following a talk with the player, the tournament may contact the police if necessary. However, Baker declined to comment on whether this had already occurred.
“I guess, if it got to the point where there was any type of criminal activity,” Baker said, adding, “But that would be out of our hands.” We’d send that forward. But we’re not going to jump in and become the police.”
SOURCE – AP
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