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Fever Player Took Issue With Nike Team USA Basketball Gold Medal Ad

Indiana Fever player Temi Fagbenle was not a fan of Nike's Team USA basketball Olympics gold medal ad.

Robin Lundberg

James Lang-USA TODAY Sports

As the saying goes, to the victor go the spoils. In this instance that would mean bragging rights for the US women's national basketball team. Team USA did bring home its eighth consecutive gold after all. Something a Nike spot following the Paris games was not shy about celebrating.

The ad was narrated by Diana Taurasi, who won a record sixth gold herself. In it she notably says, "Every four years teams come from around the world to compete...for second place." Obviously making reference to the fact that the American women have not lost in Olympics competition since 1992.

While anecdotally it seems like the spot was well received, that was not the case when it came to Indiana Fever player Temi Fagbenle. Fagbenle expressed her displeasure in a comment under a Complex Instagram post featuring a caption from the Nike ad.

Fagbenle wrote, "I'm baffled as to why bragging like this is being celebrated. Doesn't matter if it's true-we all have seen the US dominate for the past however many decades. This is in such poor taste."

Fagbenle, who was having a breakout season for the Fever before suffering a series of injuries, was born in Baltimore to Nigerian parents. She then moved to London at a young age and returned to the states in her teens. She is averaging 8.5 points and 5.5 rebounds for Indiana this season.

A'ja Wilson has already made it pretty clear how she might take any criticism of the team's accomplishments. She jokingly wrote, "Jealously is just love and hate at the same time” in response to a tongue in cheek post from Las Vegas Aces teammate Sydney Colson.

It is unclear how many others feel the same way Fagbenle did about Nike's direction, but that doesn't change the result. The US women continued their basketball dominance, even if the final win did come by a single point over France.

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Robin Lundberg

ROBIN LUNDBERG

Robin Lundberg is a media veteran and hoops head who has spent the bulk of his career with iconic brands like Sports Illustrated and ESPN. His insights have also been featured on platforms such as Fox and CNN and he can currently be heard hosting shows for Sirius XM and on his burgeoning YouTube show. And now he brings his basketball expertise to Women's Fastbreak on SI!

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