Aces Olympian Stirs Up Old Debate With Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese Team USA Take
In the weeks and months leading up to the Paris 2024 Olympics, the fact that Indiana Fever icon Caitlin Clark was not included on the Team USA 5x5 women's basketball roster incited a ton of controversy and debate within the basketball community.
Fans were calling out Team USA coaches and members of the roster selection committee for not including Clark; especially because of the added attention her being on the team would have brought to not just Team USA, but the entire sport of women's basketball.
Conversation about this snub died down once the 2024 Olympics ended and Team USA won a gold medal. But Las Vegas Aces veteran Tiffany Hayes (who played for Team Azerbaijan in 3x3 women's basketball at the Paris Olympics) stirred up discussion about this once again during her appearance on "The Progress Report Podcast".
"That's been happening for forever," Hayes responded when asked about Clark and Angel Reese not being selected for the Team USA roster. "The youngest people coming in, they feel like they need to get that opportunity right away. But everybody who was on that team had to work their way onto that team.
"So I don't know why people think that they should be able to skip steps to go straight there," Hayes continued. "I'm not saying they're not good. They're great players. But everybody has to do their steps. There's levels to it."
When one of the podcast hosts noted that she could understand the perspective of including Clark and Reese because of the attention it would have brought, Hayes said, "Then you're gonna lose and look crazy.
"You know how many times they've done that in the past and they've been this close to losing games because of it?" Hayes added while placing two fingers close to each other.
Tiffany “Tip” Hayes opens up about her 2024 Olympic experience and responds to criticism that WNBA newcomers Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark should have played in the 2024 Olympic games our new episode of The Progress Report Podcast NOW! 🏀
— The Progress Report Media Group (@TPRMediaGroup) November 22, 2024
Watch here:https://t.co/oRWsgZRndX pic.twitter.com/EoFDFuG8mI
One could argue that Clark and Reese would have helped Team USA on the court, rather than hindered them.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.