Should Caitlin Clark Be On The U.S. Olympic Team?

There is an argument either way but the bigger thing is: give the woman a break.

It must be exhausting to be Caitlin Clark right now. She’s a transcendent figure the likes of which we don’t see too often. Baseball had Babe Ruth. Hockey had Wayne Gretzky. Boxing had Muhammad Ali; horse racing had Secretariat.

Women’s basketball now has Clark.

During WNBA games she has to deal with opponents who seem to resent the attention she’s getting and bringing to their league. When Angel Reese had a “homecoming” game in D.C. recently, about 10,000 people showed up. When Clark came to town, 24,000 came to see the show. She’s doing wonders for a relatively minor league and the rest of the players resent the hell out out of her for doing what no one else has been able to do.

Before and after games, she talks to fans and signs autographs left and right. Look at all the stuff that’s being shoved at her to sign - and she does as much as she can. She’s a candidate for carpel tunnel at that rate. It’s really quite generous of her to do it, and smart too - she’s doing everything she can to build the league, even if a lot of the league hates her for it.

And she has to live up to everything that’s now expected of her too.

A bit of controversy dusted up over the weekend as news broke that she wouldn't be on the Olympic team and honestly, we’re of two minds about it.

On the one hand, Team USA has one job and that’s to win gold. Period. It’s smart to take players who have experienced the international game. It’s one of those pay-your-dues things. She’ll have her chances (although it’s fair to ask what’s the logic in taking Diana Taurasi, who turns 42 on Tuesday).

The counter-argument is also compelling though: Clark is taking this sport places where it has never been before and putting her on the team would draw immense amounts of attention to women’s basketball world-wide. Think of the Dream Team and how it changed basketball around the globe.

That’s a powerful argument, although it could also backfire. One of the most disappointing things about Clark’s move to the WNBA has been the pathetic jealousy and resentment other players have shown. It’s astonishing really. The league has more attention than it has ever had and fans are turning out in droves, much like they came to see Ruth in the 1920’s. That’s her - that’s the Caitlin Clark effect and clearly, it’s driving some people nuts.

It’s not hard to imagine a scenario where putting Clark on the team causes dissent and cliques or worse isolates her and the result is, well, not golden.

Here’s another argument though.

Like the rest of the league, the Fever will be off from mid-July to mid-August as the cream of the WNBA goes to Paris for the Olympics.

Just let her rest.

She’s a wonderful basketball player, someone who is capable of elevating the entire sport, but she looks drained. Factor in the nastiness of some of her rivals, the relentless demands of fans, not to mention the media crush and weirdos like Gregg Doyel who make her life that much harder, and maybe that month is better spent resting, getting treatment and watching video.

And when they get back from Paris, she’ll be rested and ready for Caitlin 2.0., which may come to be known later as the Payback Tour. And that’s going to be fun to watch.