Sports influencer Rachel DeMita said she thinks Caitlin Clark being left off of the U.S. Olympic women’s national basketball team roster was a mistake.
Clark wasn’t one of the 12 players picked to represent the red, white and blue as they get ready to head to Paris next month to compete for another gold medal on the global stage.
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But because Clark’s popularity has skyrocketed since she stepped onto the floor for the Indiana Fever, DeMita told Fox News Digital in a recent interview that she believes Team USA missed out on a boon from a marketing standpoint and an opportunity to highlight the top women of the WNBA.
"I personally think it is, yeah. I think if you think of it from a marketing standpoint, firstly, she’s box office. The numbers do not lie. There is no other player in the WNBA who is demanding the other teams they play against to move arenas to make sure they can hold as many fans as they need for these games," she said. "That’s the one player who is doing that."
"A lot of people are saying she is not one of the best 12 players in the league right now. Maybe she is, maybe she isn’t, but I would guarantee that you put her on that court and there’s not going to be a drop-off in her game," DeMita said. "She’s going to hold her own on the court. And I think she can do that against any of the other teams."
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"I think from a marketing perspective, from a fan’s perspective, I don’t think it was smart. But again, the way she handled it when she was questioned, she said, ‘Hey, this just lit a fire in me.’ She was disappointed, that’s what she wanted."
DeMita, who recently joined the BIG3 basketball league as a courtside commentator, said the American women will still likely bring home the gold but her point still stood.
"I don’t think it was the best decision," she said. "But again, I mean, the girls that are on that team are fantastic. They’ll bring home the gold. But I think having Caitlin on that team would have brought so much visibility to the stars on that are on that team, the stars who also deserve to be in the media more and deserve their flowers and deserve their praise. So, I think leaving her off was, honestly, it didn’t just hurt her, it hurt the rest of the women as well."
The media spotlight has gotten even hotter under Clark. She was a talking point again this month when Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter gave her a hard foul.
DeMita praised Clark for how she’s handleD the pressure with "poise and grace."
Going into Monday night’s game against the Connecticut Sun, Clark was averaging 16.8 points, 6.3 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game. She’s was also shooting 32.7% from 3-point range.
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