The United States women’s basketball team began their run through the 2024 Paris Olympic Games on Monday afternoon with a showdown against Japan. And before tipoff, one Japanese fan sent a pretty brutal message to Team USA about the decision not to include Caitlin Clark on the roster.
As Team USA was warming up before the game, a fan in the stands held a sign that said “You need Caitlin Clark to beat us.”
Team USA star A’ja Wilson was the first to notice the sign and she quickly pointed it out to her teammates.
Team USA 👀 a sign that reads, “You need Caitlin Clark to beat us.” USA-Japan tipping off shortly. pic.twitter.com/ymyJ6mSuXQ
— Kerith Burke (@KerithBurke) July 29, 2024
It’s worth noting that Clark herself has made it pretty clear that she does not agree with the sentiment expressed on the sign.
“They’re really good. They have plenty of talent on that team. Four years prior I’m pretty sure Team WNBA beat Team USA, [and] they were perfectly fine in the Olympics,” Clark said after her Team WNBA beat Team USA at the WNBA All-Star Game earlier this month.
“If anything, it shows how good this league is. It shows how much talent is in this league and how you have to show up and prepare every single night. There’s a lot of players that aren’t even here tonight that could be here too. It just shows the amount of talent we have.”
We’ll have to see how Team USA fares without Clark at the Olympics.
