Jemele Hill Had A Surprising Response To Caitlin Clark Being Snubbed By Team USA, And She May Have A Legit Point

Caitlin Clark in uniform and Jemele Hill speaking to crowdCaitlin Clark and Jemele Hill (Photos via Getty Images)
Caitlin Clark wasn’t selected for Team USA for the 2024 Summer Olympics, and Jemele Hill had interesting comments about the situation.

Reports that Caitlin Clark would not be traveling to Paris to play for the U.S. women’s basketball team at the Olympics this summer elicited conflicting responses from sports commentators. The all-time greatest scorer in NCAA Division I basketball and rookie for the Indiana Fever, Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi of the Phoenix Mercury, Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty, and A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces were among the Team USA veterans that made the 12-player squad.

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Sources told Christine Brennan of USA Today that one factor in the decision was uncertainty about how Clark’s enormous fan following would react to “what would likely be limited playing time” on Team USA’s roster, which is heavily veteran-heavy. It is anticipated that Team USA, which has won gold in every summer Olympics since 1996, will make a repeat appearance in Paris.

Given how many games Clark has played in the past year, Jemele Hill thinks USA Basketball made the right call, despite criticism directed at the organization for its selection.

“Honestly, Caitlin Clark not being on this year’s Olympics team is actually a good thing — FOR HER,” Hill, the former ESPN anchor and current Atlantic writer, wrote on X on Saturday. “In the span of weeks, she went from playing college ball, to becoming a professional, to having a grind of schedule. A multi-week break probably isn’t the worst thing in the world. She will eventually make an Olympic team.”