Wall Street Journal: Leaving Caitlin off Olympics roster a total “brick”

[tweeterhawk]

https://www.wsj.com/sports/olympics/caitlin-clark-paris-team-usa-basketball-roster-7ac32c1d?st=ly8rbbi3k1g5ntx&reflink=article_copyURL_share

… Leaving Clark off Team USA is a comical blunder of industrial self-sabotage—but also not that surprising. Let’s start with the unsurprising part. Team USA women’s basketball is a formidable juggernaut. Since Atlanta 1996, they have won the gold medal at seven straight Summer Games, and they will be heavy favorites again in France. This is a program with a legacy and a system—and though they have snubbed stars before (Candace Parker, Nneka Ogwumike) they’re not used to this sort of furious blowback from the public. They’re used to winning, and from a winning standpoint, it’s hard to argue: Team USA’s chances are going to be fine without Caitlin Clark. They are also going to be fine if they start a pinball machine at point guard.

But if Olympic basketball is also a business—and it is a business, like any element of the Olympics—then passing over a player who’s become a stadium-filling sensation is a strange and stubborn choice. Here was a low-risk opportunity to add a talented, already-on-the-roster-bubble rookie who would introduce a massive wave of new fans to the Olympic theater. These fans might not have followed prior U.S. teams, but so what? Clark’s inclusion would have lifted attention around the U.S. team in an extremely crowded Olympic calendar…

(Yeah, it’s behind a paywall. Get a subscription you cheap SOBs.)

 

[AWS1022]

https://www.wsj.com/sports/olympics/caitlin-clark-paris-team-usa-basketball-roster-7ac32c1d?st=ly8rbbi3k1g5ntx&reflink=article_copyURL_share

… Leaving Clark off Team USA is a comical blunder of industrial self-sabotage—but also not that surprising. Let’s start with the unsurprising part. Team USA women’s basketball is a formidable juggernaut. Since Atlanta 1996, they have won the gold medal at seven straight Summer Games, and they will be heavy favorites again in France. This is a program with a legacy and a system—and though they have snubbed stars before (Candace Parker, Nneka Ogwumike) they’re not used to this sort of furious blowback from the public. They’re used to winning, and from a winning standpoint, it’s hard to argue: Team USA’s chances are going to be fine without Caitlin Clark. They are also going to be fine if they start a pinball machine at point guard.

But if Olympic basketball is also a business—and it is a business, like any element of the Olympics—then passing over a player who’s become a stadium-filling sensation is a strange and stubborn choice. Here was a low-risk opportunity to add a talented, already-on-the-roster-bubble rookie who would introduce a massive wave of new fans to the Olympic theater. These fans might not have followed prior U.S. teams, but so what? Clark’s inclusion would have lifted attention around the U.S. team in an extremely crowded Olympic calendar…

(Yeah, it’s behind a paywall. Get a subscription you cheap SOBs.)

“They are also going to be fine if they start a pinball machine at point guard”….hilarious.

 

[Fan In Black]

you can say that again

 

[BioHawk]

If your stated goal is, "To grow the game" then it makes absolutely no sense for her not to be on the team. But, whatever. They missed an opportunity here, the team will win in obscurity again, and they can hope the iron is this hot again in 4 years. But nothing is guaranteed so it seems like a really stupid gamble to me.

 

[fivecardstud14]

https://www.wsj.com/sports/olympics/caitlin-clark-paris-team-usa-basketball-roster-7ac32c1d?st=ly8rbbi3k1g5ntx&reflink=article_copyURL_share

… Leaving Clark off Team USA is a comical blunder of industrial self-sabotage—but also not that surprising. Let’s start with the unsurprising part. Team USA women’s basketball is a formidable juggernaut. Since Atlanta 1996, they have won the gold medal at seven straight Summer Games, and they will be heavy favorites again in France. This is a program with a legacy and a system—and though they have snubbed stars before (Candace Parker, Nneka Ogwumike) they’re not used to this sort of furious blowback from the public. They’re used to winning, and from a winning standpoint, it’s hard to argue: Team USA’s chances are going to be fine without Caitlin Clark. They are also going to be fine if they start a pinball machine at point guard.

But if Olympic basketball is also a business—and it is a business, like any element of the Olympics—then passing over a player who’s become a stadium-filling sensation is a strange and stubborn choice. Here was a low-risk opportunity to add a talented, already-on-the-roster-bubble rookie who would introduce a massive wave of new fans to the Olympic theater. These fans might not have followed prior U.S. teams, but so what? Clark’s inclusion would have lifted attention around the U.S. team in an extremely crowded Olympic calendar…

(Yeah, it’s behind a paywall. Get a subscription you cheap SOBs.)

The question is, are you going to start a third thread on this article?

 

[onlyTheObvious]

The hatred toward her is dumbfounding to me.

She is good for the league and the women’s game.

 

[BirdistheWord]

The hatred toward her is dumbfounding to me.

She is good for the league and the women’s game.

It’s almost as if these sports entities like the WNBA are first and foremost politically motivated. They are bullies who hide behind a cloak of “inclusion” but are driven by hatred, envy and control. We all know the BLM organization was a total sham, and the WNBA tripled down on it.

 

[tweeterhawk]

The question is, are you going to start a third thread on this article?

Not sure how thread got repeated. One is enough.

 

[BioHawk]

It’s almost as if these sports entities like the WNBA are first and foremost politically motivated. They are bullies who hide behind a cloak of “inclusion” but are driven by hatred, envy and control. We all know the BLM organization was a total sham, and the WNBA tripled down on it.

I think this is at least, in part, being accelerated by troll farms and bots. There are a lot of countries that would like nothing more than to see us tear each other apart and have been instigating this here and elsewhere for over a decade now. It is well known that they use social media as one of their primary avenues of driving this hate. The tone has shifted to flat out racist culture war stuff and I don't think that is a coincidence. So, remember that when someone says something obviously stupid and antagonistic, it probably isn't actually a fan of the WNBA but someone who is trying to get you pissed off.

 

[aurorabimmer]

Good article in USA Today about Clark not on the team.

 

[BirdistheWord]

I think this is at least, in part, being accelerated by troll farms and bots. There are a lot of countries that would like nothing more than to see us tear each other apart and have been instigating this here and elsewhere for over a decade now. It is well known that they use social media as one of their primary avenues of driving this hate. The tone has shifted to flat out racist culture war stuff and I don't think that is a coincidence. So, remember that when someone says something obviously stupid and antagonistic, it probably isn't actually a fan of the WNBA but someone who is trying to get you pissed off.

Thank you for sharing. But I wasn’t providing some knee jerk reaction based on a few social media posts. I have watched and listened to the actions and comments of the WNBA brass, players, fans, media, etc - and synthesized to form my own conclusions based on what I believe are the insights behind the behavior. There probably is some element of what you say at play…but it’s just one piece to the large puzzle.

 

[BioHawk]

Thank you for sharing. But I wasn’t providing some knee jerk reaction based on a few social media posts. I have watched and listened to the actions and comments of the WNBA brass, players, fans, media, etc - and synthesized to form my own conclusions based on what I believe are the insights behind the behavior. There probably is some element of what you say at play…but it’s just one piece to the large puzzle.

Absolutely. All the trolls and bots do is agitate real people into saying stupid things that then instigate others to respond. You don't need a lot of instigators to do that. But there are multiple things all happening at once.

 

[binsfeldcyhawk2]

The hatred toward her is dumbfounding to me.

She is good for the league and the women’s game.

It sure is perplexing.

 

[BioHawk]

The hatred toward her is dumbfounding to me.

She is good for the league and the women’s game.

There are just a surprisingly high number of players that would rather play in obscurity than see someone else get all the attention they crave. It doesn't matter that they will benefit from this as well.

 

[Rocket_Fran]

I think this is at least, in part, being accelerated by troll farms and bots. There are a lot of countries that would like nothing more than to see us tear each other apart and have been instigating this here and elsewhere for over a decade now. It is well known that they use social media as one of their primary avenues of driving this hate. The tone has shifted to flat out racist culture war stuff and I don't think that is a coincidence. So, remember that when someone says something obviously stupid and antagonistic, it probably isn't actually a fan of the WNBA but someone who is trying to get you pissed off.

Evergreen. I feel like this message should be forced to every social media platform with every log-in of the user.