When it was revealed that Caitlin Clark has been excluded from the Team USA 2024 Olympic roster, many hoop fans were quick to criticize it. One of the biggest arguments had been that USA Basketball was going against its mission in elevating and promoting the game.

Clark’s popularity is at an insane level, which is why many argued that her inclusion on Team USA and participation in the Olympics would have brought so much more attention to the squad and the event.

With Clark in tow, Team USA would have been able to amplify its efforts in “promoting, growing and elevating the game at all levels.”

That narrative has been often used a lot of times in recent days as many try to make an argument for Clark on the Team USA roster. Even NBA legend Paul Pierce agreed with that sentiment, saying that women’s basketball took a “step back” with Clark’s exclusion.

May 24, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) takes the ball down court in the first half against the Los Angeles Sparks at Crypto.com Arena.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

In response to those talks, however, USA women’s basketball committee chair Jen Rizzotti emphasized that the organization is still fulfilling that mission with its programs around the US. She went on to highlight that it’s also part of USA Basketball’s goal to ensure it will field the best team to win the gold medal.

“USA Basketball does a lot for youth basketball in the United States. It has dozens of programs around the country that support the mission statement, but also part of its mission is to win Olympic Gold medals,” Rizzotti shared, via The Athletic. “And so the board selects and approves a committee to make those decisions, and they give us criteria to make those decisions. We did our job based on that criteria.”

At the end of the day, however, Team USA has already made its decision and nothing can be done about it. Caitlin Clark herself has also accepted her omission from the team.

Hopefully, though, there will be an opportunity to see Clark on the international stage sooner rather than later.