L.A. Olympics Exec Thinks Team USA Missed an Opportunity to Select Caitlin Clark

Madison Williams | Jun 24, 2024

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) looks up at the scoreboard on Sunday June 16, 2024, during the game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Fever beat the Sky 91-83. / Jacob Musselman/ For IndyStar / USA

When Caitlin Clark was left off the 2024 Paris Olympic Team USA women's basketball team roster, the basketball world was split on whether or not the WNBA No. 1 pick should've been selected as a rookie.

Many famous athletes have chimed in regarding Clark's snub, but now Casey Wasserman, who is the president of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee, has spoken his thoughts on Clark's situation.

“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 said to USA Today's Christine Brennan. “There have been incredible talents in the world, shame on all of us, the world wasn’t in a place to embrace that. 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."

However, Wasserman wasn't completely critical of the 2024 committee for their decision. He understood how complicated it must've been when deciding the women's basketball team this year because of Clark's stardom.

“I understand both sides of the issue but purely as an opportunity to showcase a generational talent to the world, clearly," Wasserman said. "But I totally get both sides of it. If it were simple, we wouldn’t be debating it.”

Clark herself admitted she wasn't "disappointed" in the news, but instead sees it as motivation to better herself for the 2028 Olympics. And, based on Wasserman's comments regarding the Indiana Fever rookie, it seems likely that Clark will be sporting the red, white and blue in 2028.