Bill Plaschke: Caitlin Clark cut from the Olympics? This snub stinks.
Published in Olympics
LOS ANGELES — She has been shoved, smacked, walloped and whacked.
She's been hip-checked, hammered, steamrollered and smothered.
In the last month, Caitlin Clark has endured the typical rough initiation into the world of women's professional basketball, and while some of it reeks of resentment, most of it has been fair.
Until now.
What the USA women's basketball committee is doing to her — and to millions of new women's basketball fans — is misguided, short-sighted and just plain wrong.
Clark, the most popular women's basketball player in the world, is being body-slammed out of the Olympics.
In a story first reported by the Athletic, the 12-player Team USA women's roster for this summer's Paris Games will not include the one player the world wants to see there.
Clark, the greatest scorer in college basketball history and a decent WNBA rookie, has been cut.
A dozen spots, yet they couldn't make room for the kid who just scored 30 points in the WNBA's most-attended game in 17 years.
A dozen uniforms, yet they couldn't find one for the kid who would fill the stands and sizzle the ratings and universally grow the game.
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