Dawn Staley speaking during interview (left). Caitlin Clark looking on (right).Dawn Staley and Caitlin Clark (Photos via Twitter and Getty Images)
South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley made an interesting admission about Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark, who was controversially snubbed from the US women’s Olympic basketball team.

Caitlin Clark is in the middle of a historic WNBA rookie season, averaging 17.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game. At this rate, the 22-year-old will run away with WNBA Rookie of the Year honors.

Staley, who coached the women’s basketball team to gold in the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, is part of the Team USA selection committee. NBC’s Mike Tirico asked Staley about Clark’s snubbing, to which she admitted that Clark would have been strongly considered if they could redo the selection process:

“If we had to do it all over again, the way that she’s playing, she would be in really high consideration of making the team because she is playing head and shoulders above a lot of people.”

Staley also praised Clark’s shooting, “elite” passing and high basketball IQ.

 

The Fever drafted Caitlin Clark first overall after following her historic NCAA career with the Iowa Hawkeyes. The all-time NCAA basketball Division I leading scorer led Iowa to consecutive national championship game appearances in 2023 and 2024, where they lost to LSU and Staley’s Gamecocks, respectively.

The United States women’s Olympic basketball team will open group play against Japan at Pierre Mauroy Stadium. They will then face Belgium on Thursday before wrapping up group play against Germany on Sunday.

Caitlin Clark Has Fever In A Playoff Spot At The Break

The Fever haven’t made the postseason since 2016, and they haven’t won a playoff series since 2015. On top of that, they have only finished above .500 once since 2013 (20-14 in 2015).

But Caitlin Clark has the Fever surging following a tough 2-9 start to the season. They won three of their final four games before the Olympic break, including a home victory over the league-leading New York Liberty and a road victory against the third-seeded Minnesota Lynx.

At the break, Indiana is the No. 7 seed with a record of 11-15. They are three games up on the ninth-seeded Atlanta Dream.

Olympic Games Organizers Send Loud & Clear Message To Anyone Who Was Offended By Their Opening Ceremony

Olympic Games opening ceremony (Photo by Getty Images)
The 2024 Olympic Games got off to a controversial start on Friday night, with the opening ceremony angering many people, especially those of the Christian faith.

At one point, a segment featuring drag queens seemed to parody “The Last Supper.”

A spokesperson for the organizers has responded to the backlash with claims that this was an attempt at showing tolerance, which they reckon was achieved.

“Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. (The opening ceremony) tried to celebrate community tolerance,” Anne Descamps told reporters, via Reuters.

“We believe this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offense, we are really sorry.”

James Leperlier, a French LGBTQ leader, has also claimed that the ceremony did not go far enough.

French LGBTQ leader James Leperlier suggested that the Opening Ceremony was not a true representation of France.

“We know in the LGBTQ community in France we are far from what the ceremony showed. There’s much progress to do in society regarding transgender people. It’s terrible that to legally change their identity they are forced to be on trial,” the Inter-LGBT president said.

“If you saw the opening ceremony last night you’d think it was like that normally, but it’s not. France tried to show what it should be and not what it is.”

American Priest Makes His Feelings Clear On Olympic Games Opening Ceremony

An American Catholic priest lashed out at the segment, referring to it as a mockery of one of Christianity’s most important moments.

“France felt evidently, as it’s trying to put its best cultural foot forward, the right thing to do is to mock this very central moment in Christianity, where Jesus at His Last Supper gives His body and blood in anticipation of the cross. And so it’s presented though as this gross sort of flippant mockery,” Bishop Robert Barron said.

“France, which used to be called the eldest daughter of the church, Paris, that gave us – Thomas Aquinas taught there, and Vincent De Paul was there, and King Louis IX – St. Louis. France has sent Catholic missionaries all over the world.

“France, whose culture – and I mean the honoring of the individual, of human rights, of freedom – is grounded very much in Christianity, felt the right thing to do is mock the Christian faith.

“I think, folks, what’s interesting here is this deeply secularist, postmodern society knows who its enemy is. They’re naming it. And we should believe them.”

Barron is hardly the only one to have spoken out against this, with many claiming they will not watch the Olympic Games due to what they consider a huge slight.

In any case, it continues.