Current:Home > reviewsL.A. Olympics official: Leaving Caitlin Clark off 2024 U.S. team 'missed opportunity'-LoTradeCoin
L.A. Olympics official: Leaving Caitlin Clark off 2024 U.S. team 'missed opportunity'
lotradecoin guidelines View Date:2024-12-25 12:39:17
INDIANAPOLIS — Casey Wasserman, president of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, said Saturday night that the USA Basketball decision to not put Caitlin Clark on the 2024 Olympic team was “a missed opportunity.”
“I think it’s a missed opportunity because she’s clearly a generational talent at a time when the world was ready for it,” Wasserman, also head of the sports marketing and management company bearing his name, said at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials.
“There have been incredible talents in the world, shame on all of us, the world wasn’t in a place to embrace that,” Wasserman said. “Take Diana (Taurasi) or Breanna Stewart, or some of our (Wasserman) clients who are going to be on the team. They are dominant at a level that’s never been seen before but the world wasn’t ready to fill a building like Caitlin Clark did for whatever, the Final Four.
“Now you have both those things and so that’s a powerful opportunity and I just think it would have been an opportunity to elevate the women’s team but I understand the other side of it, which is it’s an independent process and it’s hard to get in the way of telling (the coach and the committee) what to do.”
Said Wasserman: “I understand both sides of the issue but purely as an opportunity to showcase a generational talent to the world, clearly. But I totally get both sides of it. If it were simple, we wouldn’t be debating it.”
Wasserman did say the timing of the USA Basketball national team training camp, which was held in Cleveland at the same time that Clark’s Iowa team was playing in the Women’s Final Four, was not ideal.
“Unfortunately, I think something USA Basketball needs to look at is the qualification process for the players if you have athletes going deep into the NCAA tournament, it makes it really difficult to participate in the process, so you don’t even necessarily get the opportunity that others do,” he said.
“Whether she should have been on or not, she didn’t really have the chance to be on the court at the time in those moments to be judged in the same way. And that’s a hard thing for an athlete.”
As the person running the next Summer Olympics, Wasserman definitely wants to see Clark in L.A.
“I certainly hope she’ll be at the 2028 Olympics,” he said. “She’s a great star and the future of American basketball is bright.”
veryGood! (412)
Related
- Stop & Shop is using grocery store kiosks to make digital
- This Oscar Nominee for Barbie is Among the Highest Paid Hollywood Actors: See the Full List
- NYC public servants accused of stealing identities of homeless in pandemic fraud scheme
- This 'Euphoria' star says she's struggled with bills after Season 3 delays. Here's why.
- Save 30% on the Perfect Spongelle Holiday Gifts That Make Every Day a Spa Day
- Democrats walk out of Kentucky hearing on legislation dealing with support for nonviable pregnancies
- Inter Miami vs. Nashville SC in Champions Cup: Will Messi play? Live updates, how to watch.
- Gunman in Maine's deadliest mass shooting, Robert Card, had significant evidence of brain injuries, analysis shows
- The burial site of the people Andrew Jackson enslaved was lost. The Hermitage says it is found
- Maryland revenue estimates drop about $255M in two fiscal years
Ranking
- What was 2024's best movie? From 'The Substance' to 'Conclave,' our top 10
- Rust weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez-Reed convicted of involuntary manslaughter in accidental shooting
- Former congressional candidate and pro wrestler arrested in Vegas murder of man who was wrongly imprisoned for cold-case killing
- NFL mock draft: Broncos, Eagles aim to fill holes left by Russell Wilson, Jason Kelce
- Hate crime charges dropped against 12 college students arrested in Maryland assault
- Iditarod musher Dallas Seavey penalized for not properly gutting moose that he killed to protect his dogs
- Oscar predictions: Who will win Sunday's 2024 Academy Awards – and who should
- Jake Paul will fight Mike Tyson at 80,000-seat AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys
Recommendation
-
Drew Barrymore has been warned to 'back off' her guests after 'touchy' interviews
-
Ground cinnamon sold at discount retailers contaminated with lead, FDA urges recall
-
Dave's Eras Jacket creates global Taylor Swift community as coat travels to 50+ shows
-
New Jersey sees spike in incidents of bias in 2023
-
One Tech Tip: How to protect your communications through encryption
-
Democrats walk out of Kentucky hearing on legislation dealing with support for nonviable pregnancies
-
NFL Network's Good Morning Football going on hiatus, will relaunch later this summer
-
Save 40% on a NuFACE Device Shoppers Praise for Making Them Look 10 Years Younger