Shannon Sharpe slammed the decision by Team USA to leave Caitlin Clark, the biggest women’s basketball star in the game today, off the Olympic squad.
Sharpe made the remarks in an appearance on ESPN’s First Take. In his commentary, he questioned whether or not the US team was dedicated to actually making the sport a bigger global sensation.
“Are we really trying to grow the game? Because this is the most popular women’s basketball player in the world and it ain’t close,” he said.
Sharpe’s remarks echo those of our own when Bounding Into Sports questioned why the team didn’t want “the biggest star in the game drawing attention to the sport.”
The WNBA is experiencing explosive growth in ticket sales and television ratings thanks in no small part to Clark’s emergence in the league.
Shannon Sharpe on Caitlin Clark being left off of Team USA: "Are we really trying to grow the game? Because this is the most popular women's basketball player in the world and it ain't close… So are we really trying to grow the game? Is that what we're really trying to do? Or… pic.twitter.com/XwSdruLuG9
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 10, 2024
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Shannon Sharpe: ‘Bull Jiving’
Shannon Sharpe went on to point out a recent game in which the Washington Mystics had to move their contest against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever to a bigger venue.
The Mystics, who normally play in a 4,200-seat arena, moved the game to the Capital One Arena and promptly sold out.
The 20,333 fans on hand represented the league’s largest attendance for a game since 2007, according to acrossthetimeline.com.
“Name a time when a WNBA game has had to be moved because of a woman player?” Sharpe demanded. “Just tell me one, because I know she’s averaging about 17,000 [fans]. All the other WNBA games in which she’s not a participant average about seven.”
“So are we really trying to grow the game? Is that what we’re really trying to do?” he continued. “Or are we just talking about ‘we’re trying to grow the game’ and just bull jiving?”
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Not The Only One Incensed With Caitlin Clark’s Olympic Snub
The WNBA is quite clearly seeing a surge in television viewers and Caitlin Clark appears to be the primary driver behind those numbers.
Games featuring the Fever guard see 1.099 million viewers on average. Those without her are averaging 414,000 viewers. That is solid news for the league considering games last season averaged just 301,000 viewers.
In addition to the television ratings, Bounding Into Sports noted that Clark is dominating actual ticket sales for road games.
Sharpe wasn’t the only one on ESPN’s First Take to go borderline apoplectic over Team USA’s Olympic decision. Stephen A. Smith was also furious, and for similar reasons.
“This is about what I will personally label the idiocy of Team USA women’s basketball,” Smith declared. “How dare you make this decision? It’s stupid. And I’m gonna tell you why it’s stupid.”
“This girl is box office. I said a rising tide lifts all boats – especially if you’re Team USA and you’re trying to be globalized and there’s an opportunity to globalize the WNBA brand,” he explained.
Instead, Team USA opted to sink the boat with all of Clark’s fans still on deck.
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