Within the final segment of the opening hour of First Take on ESPN, the show was having a debate about whether or not it was the right decision to leave Indiana Fever rookie guard and No. 1 overall WNBA draft pick Caitlin Clark off of the USA Basketball Women’s Olympic Team. The show panel consisted of featured commentator and executive producer Stephen A. Smith with Chiney Ogwumike, Andraya Carter and Shannon Sharpe, all of whom gave their opinions pertaining to the question at hand.
Ogwumike expressed that she believed the selection committee was giving Clark more time to grow with the next generation and that the entity was ultimately setting her up for success. The group, she articulated, was ultimately prioritizing the actual game of basketball rather than the ability to sell jerseys.
Smith did not have time to reply to this assertion but directed the show to come back with the discussion at the top of the hour. Upon its return, the debate resumed and Carter outlined that she understood the marketing perspective behind including Clark. After all, she is one of the most popular players in the league and has been in games with high levels of viewership and ticket sales. Several teams have moved certain games on their schedules to larger venues to accommodate the crowds interested in seeing Clark and the Indiana Fever take the court. Yet Carter felt that the perspectives were short-sighted, conveying how Clark has been playing basketball consistently since November.
“A break could be appreciated, and the worst thing you would want is something to happen to Caitlin where she can’t finish out the WNBA season,” Carter said. “I know you all want to grow this game so quickly, but I don’t know how dollars from TV deals watching the Olympics translates from dollars from TV deals watching the WNBA. We’re going to continue to grow the game and the W as people tune in to watch Caitlin in the W, and her rest and the potential dynamo finish to the season that she could have could grow the game more on the backend than anything else.”
Smith then revealed that a respected figure in the journalism business reached out to him and used the word “tragic” to describe what Carter was expressing. Within his discourse, Smith implored that this was about history and paying attention to the reality of the situation. He then referenced how Isiah Thomas was left off the USA Basketball Men’s Olympic Team in 1992, something he called a “travesty” and “one of the biggest crimes in the history of Olympic competition.” In the end, Smith attributed that decision as being an ultimate appeasement aimed towards Chicago Bulls star guard Michael Jordan.
“It’s how it goes, and we sat here last week, and I personally got accused of not promoting the WNBA more by our lovely colleague Monica McNutt – no problems with her whatsoever; love her to death – but she accused me of that, right?,” Smith said. “No problem, but we then go on to acknowledge there are many others who didn’t do enough of a job promoting the WNBA.”
Smith explained that the reason that First Take did not do a better job of promoting the WNBA was because of the lack of interest, sizzle and headlines. He then tied that assertion into what just occurred with the selection committee and how people are still expressing discontent towards different facets of the sport, such as the maximum salary and lack of notoriety.
“You’re complaining about all of these things, and the one person who has proven they can alleviate that concern; that can ultimately serve the benefit, the [betterment of the] whole, now we want to sit up there and get all altruistic and stuff in talking about, ‘Hey, it’s about the sanctity of the game and the level of competition,’” Smith said. “You going to win by 30 without her just like you’d win by 30 with her. 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.”
Carter replied by recollecting that Team USA won its first Olympics game by nine points the last time the team competed in the proceedings. The committee, she claimed, chose to leave Clark off the roster to allow her to flourish long term and grow the game in that sense. Smith then exclaimed that she was saying the committee did it for her well-being, leading Ogwumike and Carter, along with host Molly Qerim, to try and explain the situation all at once.
“Stephen A., it’s not about her well being,” Qerim said. “It’s to put the best team out there.”
“That’s literally not what I said,” Carter articulated.
Ogwumike acknowledged that the sport is at a pivotal moment, but that it represents more of a marathon than a sprint. Placing Clark in the best position to succeed, she presumed, could come by putting her in the global spotlight when the Olympic Games come to Los Angeles, Calif. in 2028 when she has more experience and familiarity with the league and others in the sport.
“If you’re thinking about that marathon, then don’t be holding people accountable for not promoting the sport more,” Smith replied “Oh no, don’t do that. Can’t have it both ways if you think about the marathon.”
“What were your words about A’ja Wilson?,” Carter questioned. “That she was ‘the most marketable player in the sport.’ You said that, you said that. So when this Olympics comes up, we should have First Take segments on what A’ja Wilson does in the Olympics, and then people will watch because you say it; because you already said that about A’ja, so we’re already going to talk about the Olympics on First Take.”
Smith replied by explaining that he had been saying it about her, and Sharpe tried to explain that it is not how television works. Qerim, however, needed to get the show to a commercial break, resembling the debate last week between Smith and McNutt, and promised that the show could come back to the topic following the pause.
