Caitlin Clark May Have Been Good Enough for the Olympics After All, U.S. Women’s Basketball Coach Now Admits

After months of criticism for not picking WNBA star Caitlin Clark for the Olympics, U.S. Women’s basketball team coach Dawn Staley suddenly admits that Clark was a good prospect for Team USA after all.

On the eve of the U.S. team’s debut in the international games on Monday against Japan, Staley is finally admitting that Clark has earned enough achievements to have warranted her possible pick to play in the 2024 Olympics.

Appearing on camera on Sunday, Staley addressed the criticism for leaving Clark off the U.S. team.

“As a committee member, you’re charged with putting together the best team of players, the best talent,” Staley tried to explain.

“Caitlin is just a rookie in the WNBA, wasn’t playing bad, but wasn’t playing like she’s playing now. If we had to do it all over again, the way that she’s playing, she would be in really high consideration of making the team because she is playing head and shoulders above a lot of people,” Staley exclaimed.

“Shooting the ball extremely well, I mean, she is an elite passer; she’s just got a great basketball IQ, and she’s a little more seasoned in the pro game in a couple of months than she was two months ago,” Staley added.

Despite Staley’s sudden misgivings about leaving Clark off the U.S. Olympic team, U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland defended the committee’s decision to exclude the white, heterosexual Indiana player.

“When you look at the whole thing in totality, I would say USA Basketball has had a very disciplined process with people who know more about the sport of women’s basketball than anyone else in the world,” she said, according to Bloomberg.

Hirshland concluded by saying the women’s team has been a consistent gold medal winner, so she trusts that they have “gotten it right yet again.”