The Hypocrisy Of The WNBA Snubbing Caitlin Clark Off Olympic Roster (Complete Story)

the WNBA established in 1997 has yet to turn a profit in fact in 2018 NBA Commissioner Adam Silver publicly revealed that the league has been losing an average of $10 million annually since its Inception even in 2024 despite record-breaking attendance the league is projected to lose 50 million you know I've always been curious about how and why the WNBA is losing so much money I mean with the average NBA player earning around $12 million annually how is the W bleeding tens of millions each year sure they can't dunk sometimes it seems like they barely resemble basketball players and yes they miss shots that even a 12-year-old could make all jokes aside I'll admit there are some incredibly talented players in the WNBA so as someone who runs a YouTube business where profit and revenue are key priorities the question of why the WNBA struggles to turn a profit has always puzzled me no matter how much I thought about it the answer remained elusive a mystery I just couldn't [Music] crack that is until the 202 24 Paris Olympics came along Team USA is not worried about the marketing that is not team USA's mission right now Team USA is trying to get a gold medal what unfolded leading up to and during the 2024 Olympics revealed exactly why the WNBA continues to struggle financially what I'm trying to figure out is why is it the US Women's National Team and the US Women's commission that puts together this team why is it their responsib ability to worry about ratings to illustrate my point in this video I'll dive into the full story of the hypocrisy behind the wnba's decision to snub Caitlyn Clark from the 2024 Olympic roster it don't make a difference you make the call because of the betterment of the whole in the end that is not compromising your integrity that is business and y'all are going to find that out in 2022 Britney Griner was among the highest paid players in the WNBA yet her salary still wasn't enough like many WNBA players she had to supplement her income by playing in another League during the off season and the league she chose to play in was in Russia where she was arrested for accidentally bringing her medical cannabis which is illegal there WNBA star Britney grer convicted today on drug charges in Russia a judge sentencing her to 9 years in a penal Colum another player Liz cambig turned to only fans to supplement her income stating that the wnba's pay was simply not enough so if somebody said to you what is the reason you're not in the WNBA what would your answer be you don't pay me enough you do not pay me enough to warm up this Achilles every other day and hoop and get the beaten out of me on court to then sit these are among the most popular and top tier players in the WNBA but can you imagine someone like Charisma Osborne who in 2024 is earning just $45,000 playing for the Phoenix Mercury or Maya Caldwell from the Atlanta Dream who's earning even less just imagine how the lower tier WNBA players feel about their salaries and the Extreme Measures they got to take to supplement their income stories that will never make the headlines because they aren't Superstar players think about them anyway I won't dive into that rabbit hole today but the point is that the WNBA still needs to generate more revenue and that should be their top priority sure winning the gold in the Olympics is important but sometimes you can't just focus on the battle you have to consider the entire War as Phil Jackson once said not only is there more to life than basketball there's a lot more to basketball than basketball then in 2024 out of nowhere a golden opportunity landed right in the wnba's lap Caitlyn Clark Caitlyn Clark Caitlyn Clark Caitlyn Clark a superstar out of Iowa who led all of NCAA both women's and men's in scoring and made waves worldwide declared for the WNBA and was chosen as the first overall pick with the first pick in the 2024 WNBA draft the Indiana Fever select Caitlyn Clark University of Iowa right away Caitlyn made a massive impact in the WNBA there are the first points in the WNBA career of Caitlyn Clark suddenly fans were lining up for games the atmosphere was electric and a newfound sense of magic filled the arena Caitlyn Clark all the hvep now that we got to watch her in person truthfully maybe the biggest basketball game here in the summer this year what did you guys think Luke will start with you uh I loved it I thought it was so fun the atmosphere was amazing in 2023 the Las Vegas Aces led the league in attendance with around 9,500 attendees per game while the Indiana Fever averaged just about 4,000 attendees per game well just take a look at the 2024 numbers the fever quadrupled their attendance reaching 16,000 per game surpassing even the aces numbers from both last year and this year 177,000 people had the game yesterday bro Hey listen at 10:30 in the morning God damn mad mad a bro the reality is everyone wants to watch Caitlyn Clark play boosting attendance at both home and away games she's not just one of the best players in the league she's also the most exciting to watch I mean she shoots the ball from Steph Curry range and ranks as the 13th leading scorer in the league all while leading the league in assists wheeler finds CL from Theos it's safe to say that Caitlyn is the biggest thing that ever happened to the WNBA or women's basketball for that matter as some say she's the rising tide that lifts all boats this girl is box office I said and Tide lifts all boats anyway in addition to Caitlyn Clark the WNBA had another golden opportunity in 2024 the Paris Olympics Caitlyn Clark has done an incredible job of marketing the WNBA within the United States but now it was time to Showcase her on the world stage just like the 1992 dream team captured International markets by showcasing Legends like Michael Jordan Magic Johnson and Larry Bird the WNBA now had its chance to introduce Caitlyn Clark to the world this moment had the potential to transform the WNBA from a North American League into a global Sports phenomenon multiplying their revenue twofold five-fold or even 10-fold this was a golden opportunity to ensure no WNBA players ever have to risk imprisonment by playing in other leagues during the off season open an only fans account to make ends meet or resort to begging for money on national television again this was the true definition of the stars aligning an opportunity of a lifetime this was the wnba's moment to finally shine after years of ridicule since its Inception this was their chance to finally rise to the top of the mountain but what did they do they deemed Caitlyn Clark not good enough and left her off the [Applause] team no I don't think it was disrespectful to leave Caitlyn Clark off the Olympic roster she is not one of the 12 best professional basketball players in the United States of America right now as you've heard they claimed she wasn't one of the League's top players despite being 13th in points in the WNBA and leading the league and assists you know essentially it was the committee's job to pick the 12 that um you know based on our selection criteria as you've heard they claim she didn't make the team due to their selection criteria despite two of the 12 struggling with significant shooting and efficiencies this year Team USA is not worried about the marketing that is not team USA's mission right now Team USA is trying to get a gold medal as you've heard it's not the Olympics responsibility to market the WNBA anyway if I went through every ridiculous reason the WNBA had for excluding Caitlyn Clark from the 2024 Olympic roster this video would take an hour but you get the jit for one reason or another they decided to leave her off the team and what was the result well take a look at the women's games fans were eager to see Caitlyn Clark and on one particular day there were six women's basketball games happening at the Olympics the game with Team USA had the lowest attendance at 13,000 far less than Spain versus China which Drew 27,000 and even Serbia versus Puerto Rico which had 15,000 in attendance she guys it was quite an embarrassment and I'm sure Stephen A Smith's words hit home when he said it don't make a difference you make the call because of the betterment of the whole in the end that is not compromising your integrity that is business and y'all are going to find that out anyway here's where things get even crazier Diana terasi often regarded as the goat of the WNBA spoke out before for the Olympics saying Caitlyn shouldn't be on the team and emphasizing how difficult it is to earn a spot you know the one thing I can say is it's always a hard team to make no matter what cuz you were young yourself and tell me if I'm wrong weren didn't weren't you named to the roster as soon as you graduated right you were young yeah yeah after I won three national championships I was named jeez so how did you deal with that I mean yes the same Diana terasi who just won her sixth gold medal didn't even play in the gold medal game yeah she got a dnp throughout the entire Olympics DT averaged just one point per game while shooting a mere 16% from the field what how does someone with stats like that claim Caitlyn Clark shouldn't be on the team shees guys and here's where it gets even more ridiculous a commentator once defended DT spot on the team saying this of her current teammates though are on the team Shannon you know what chemistry means you know what it means to have somebody beside you out there on the playing field that you trust someone that you know Diana terasi knows Kalia copper Diana terasi knows how to get Britney grinder the ball on the inside more than anyone else on the team does they argued that she deserved a spot on the team because she knows Britney Griner well and is the best at getting B the ball in her sweet spots but here's the kicker Britney grinder only played 5 minutes in that gold medal game so what it boils down to is that they believe someone who got a dnp in that gold medal game deserved a spot on the team more because she could better support a player who only got 5 minutes in that crucial match here's how fans are feeling in the aftermath do you think that theyve realized that maybe they should have had Angel Reese and Caitlyn Clark on the team I mean of course they should I I don't even know what time the game's on I haven't heard anything about it there's nobody talk like we went from talking about these two in WNBA season before I went to Italy I go to Italy I haven't heard either of their names in weeks and here's the final kicker before the Paris Olympics Caitlyn had already faced off against Diana tas's team twice and dominated in both meetings then in their first game back after the Olympics Caitlyn once again outshined her dropping 30 points and dishing out 10 assists Indiana comes up with a turnover here is Clark This Time It's Smith with a foul and an and [Applause] one guys Caitlyn Clark played with a chip on her shoulder in this game and looked determined to prove the Olympic team wrong for leaving her off the roster she dominated on the court torching Diana terasi once again off the screen finds some space and delivers it's a triple for Caitlyn Clark but anyway what I'm really getting at is how hypocritical it was for the WNBA to leave Caitlyn off the Paris Olympic roster they've been begging for for money since forever and when the opportunity of a lifetime finally came to change that they blew it Caitlyn is clearly an exceptional Talent who would have outperformed at least three players on that Olympic roster fans were eager to see her and her presence could have significantly contributed to solving the wnba's long-standing problem generating Revenue yet they still chose to exclude her and this ladies and gentlemen is the mindset that has kept them broke for decades they've let egos Pride overshadow what really matters business anyway Caitlyn has been putting Diana to Rossi in her place lately and it's almost not even funny anymore but have you seen the day Angel Reese got a reality check Clark steps back fires you if not you've got to check out this video where Caitlyn really showed her who's boss and trust me when I say by the end of the game Angel was practically saying yes ma'am