WNBA All-Star Game MVP elaborates on 'flags' that prompted her to take her name out of Olympic roster pool

WNBA All-Star Game MVP Arike Ogunbowale discussed her decision to take her name out of Olympic consideration, citing "flags" and "politics."

In June, Arike Ogunbowale said she had removed herself from Olympic consideration "months" earlier.

The WNBA All-Star Game MVP said there was "politics" involved. And while she remained vague on that topic earlier this week, she said she felt like she was not "wanted" on this year's squad.

"I know myself and what I see, and I wasn’t feeling like they really wanted me on that team, so I just removed myself," she said earlier this week on ESPN's "SportsCenter." 

"Because it is a process to, you know, keep your name in the pool and having to go to these things [Team USA camps]. So, if I already knew and felt that I wasn’t going to be on the team, I just removed myself from that."

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At the time, Ogunbowale said "politics has always surrounded" women’s basketball and suggested the selection criteria is inherently subjective.

"I see it all across professional sports. There are some great players that aren’t on teams. There are some players that aren’t that good that are on teams. I’m not just specifically talking about USA Basketball," she added. "When I said ‘politics’ I’m just speaking in general, just obviously being involved in basketball my whole life. I’ve been a part of some things that were political, whether it was college, WNBA. So, I kind of just said it like that."

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Ogunbowale said there were "flags and things that I just felt" to eventually come to her decision.

"They choose who they want to choose, and that has nothing to do with me. I’m very confident and comfortable in myself and my skills. So, whether I’m on the team or not on the team, I’m still blessed to play the game. God has blessed me with my abilities, and I’m just going to keep doing what I do."

Ogunbowale earned All-WNBA honors in 2021 and 2022. She was the league's scoring champion in 2020. She is averaging 22.3 points per game this season and dropped 34 points in the All-Star Game Saturday.

Team USA plays its first game Monday against Japan at 3 p.m. ET.

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