I am just here to counter punch. You just got knocked out. Lol
The 5 members who kept Caitlin Clark off of Team USA
- Thread starter twwilliams9
- Start date
Thank God we have another white liberal to come to the rescue of black ppl. I mean what would minorities do if you weren't around to save them.
Being a minority isn't a good position to be in? Are you still in the 1960s?
You said diversity is a good thing. Where is the diversity on that panel? And not skin color only. If that was a panel of 5 black men, men who are looking at it as a business, I guarantee she would be there.
The dream team took the NBA to a whole new level. That event created the international expansion we see today. The game went from bird/magic to Jordan to an international craze. Had nothing to with color. You have Luca and Giannis and everything in between because of that Olympics. The wnba had a chance to try and create that buzz and women took the petty route rather than looking to the future.
Everyone here making the argument she should be on the squad is doing so from a marketing point of view. That league had a golden ticket handed to them and they threw it away out of spite.
How do you know CC is straight? How do you know she isn't staying in the closet for marketing reason? Jordan stayed away from social issues and political issues because of marketing. As Jordan once famously stated, "Republicans buy sneakers, too." David Falk was Jordan's agent and he kept him as highly marketable as possible by steering him away from controversial issues.
But you realize the nba made tons of money off Bird and Magic the first year they were in the league right? I'm sure it was racial to some people but it seemed much more coastal/regional to me not living on either coast. I don't even remember having a routing interest in those teams the first couple years. Pretty sure whites were over 70% of the population at the time and the west coast all pulled for Magic over Bird due to conf and not race.
CC and Reese could be the same thing to wnba but women are too jealous to hitch their wagon to a horse. They want to be the star or piss on it. What you're saying would be more legit if we weren't seeing and hearing what we do from wnba players and coaches. It's like they want people to stop watching. LOL.
What makes you think I am white?
If you really believe that race wasn't a major part of the Magic vs Bird attraction, you either weren't around when they played or you are clueless. I am putting my money on clueless.
Because people posted photos of her with her bf for a few years now. If she was planning this all the way back then... LOL.
Race was a major component of their matchup. Isiah Thomas once stated that "Bird is a very, very good basketball player, but if he was black, he'd be just another guy." That comment cost Isiah endorsement dollars.
What did race have to with Jordan becoming the most popular athlete of all time in a 70% white country?
1980, yea race played a role for sure. Boston, especially then, was a different animal.
Why do you keep making this racial when everyone else is talking business and marketing. If your not white you are definitely liberal. Race is the only card they fall back on when they lose every aspect of an argument.
The father of one of my former classmates who appeared as straight as anyone could be was outed 30 years later as gay. This man had a wife and child and was able to remain in the closet for over 30 years until he was busted in a sting operation.
Lets say everything you're saying is true.... Magic was smart enough to play up the rivalry but also being likable. He is probably close to a billionaire right now because of it. Let that sink in with how dumb the wnba is for not learning anything. ... but Bird isn't just "some dude". LOL. Even players of the era will tell you stories of him doing some wild stuff.
And I think you are taking Isaih's quote out of context and too serious. It could very well been "those guys suck and we are better"... Isaih was helped out a few times in life by Bird. They ended up being very good friends.
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OH well then. I guess the wnba needs to shame her for pretending then. Hell, let them just go full on hate and lose any positives off this moment. Hell, just going back and forth with you on this makes me never want to watch even a clip from the girls again. LOL.
Maintaining his marketing appeal is the reason why Jordan didn't come to the defense of Craig Hodges.
From day one, this discussion was sole about race which is the reason for some of the vile things said about black female players concerning this subject.
As for me being a liberal, I am as much a liberal as you are MAGA.
I don't know if she is or isn't. I am just stating that we don't know. Heck, Candace Parker just came out of the closet. She was married and had a child. She came out publicly in 2022.
So are you saying that black people not being mean toward white people only happens if they want to be marketable? It seems like you're saying all those dudes would have just whipped Birds ass if not for the money... Which is odd because that seems to be what many of the women in the wnba seem to be trying to do to CC. LOL
It does beg some questions.
I am not sure how old you are, but I am willing to bet that you weren't even born during the early Magic vs Bird games. Magic was smart enough to play up to the rivalry because he knew that he was the better player, so he allowed his game to do his talking, in college and the pros. Eventually because of mutual respect, they became very good friends.
As for Isaih's comments, they were very much viewed as racist.
Who are the many women? Are you talking about the one who pushed her down? We know that has never happened basketball before. I think not. Are they the same ones who are roughing up
Reese?
Was Jordan roughed up when he went to the NBA because of his color or was it because he was good and the vets were trying to scare him out of his game? I know that it is men vs women, but the strategy is the same.
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There is nothing that I said come close to the crap that you just posted. I said that Jordan's agent steered him around heated social and political issues of that time. How you took that great leap to "So are you saying that black people not being mean toward white people only happens if they want to be marketable?" can only be understood by examining your wild imagination.
The WNBA doesn't choose the USA Women's National Team. The people who work for USA Basketball do not work for the WNBA and vice versa.
The Chairman of USA Basketball is a retired Army general (Martin Dempsey):
The Commissioner of the WNBA is a CPA (Cathy Engelbert):
The primary function of USA Basketball is not to grow the popularity of the WNBA or to be responsible for the growth and/or advancement of women's basketball.
Down goes Frazier!! LolThe WNBA doesn't choose the USA Women's National Team. The people who work for USA Basketball do not work for the WNBA and vice versa.
The Chairman of USA Basketball is a retired Army general (Martin Dempsey):
The Commissioner of the WNBA is a CPA (Cathy Engelbert):
The primary function of USA Basketball is not to grow the popularity of the WNBA or to be responsible for the growth and/or advancement of women's basketball.
Isaiah did say that. Saw it in a bird doc. But in context of the times then it was more rivalry and not race. Those guys all hated each other and were super competitors. Hell Bird thought it was disrespectful to have white guys guard him. Just a different league.
That last paragraph is just plain dumb. Like real dumb.The WNBA doesn't choose the USA Women's National Team. The people who work for USA Basketball do not work for the WNBA and vice versa.
The Chairman of USA Basketball is a retired Army general (Martin Dempsey):
The Commissioner of the WNBA is a CPA (Cathy Engelbert):
The primary function of USA Basketball is not to grow the popularity of the WNBA or to be responsible for the growth and/or advancement of women's basketball.
The primary function of any organization of this nature is to make money my friend. By whatever means possible.
Unless you are a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation, which is what the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee and USA Basketball, as a member governing body of the USOPC, are.
Thats a completely different argument. Shes a huge ratings and media draw for a league that sorely needs it. Was a stupid decision from a business standpoint.
Good grief...this couldn't be further from the truth. Had Clark been on the team, she would have only amplified her stature in the "WNBA" and they would have reaped the benefits.
There isn't a logical reason why 42 yr old Taurasi is on the team to begin with, even if Clark was/wasn't an option to fill her spot.
What you are saying is probably true, but the WNBA and USA Basketball are different. The WNBA would love for Clark to be on the team, but they don't decide unless they are illegally inducing the officials of a completely different organization.
Your argument is like saying the SEC would benefit from Livvy Dunne being on Team USA in gymnastics; but, the SEC doesn't decide who gets to be on the team in the first place.
I'll bite!
Do you remember Jackie Styles? She scored a lot and was the all time scorer until Kelsey Plum passed her.
What about Kelsey Mitchell who currently plays with Clark. She is the current 3rd all time leading scorer in NCAA. Is Mitchell one of the 20 best women playing right now? She's not the first white girl to outscore everyone who's ever done it.(She being Clark)
Uconn and Tennessee always loaded their schedules with the best teams in the country. It's goofy to say Geno's reign is over when he just took 7 players to the final 4 and probably should have played in the final. Geno's best teams beat the past 10 women's NCAA champions.
The whole point is she is not better than any of the guards that are on the USA squad so she isn't on the squad. One of the guards on the squad hasn't played a game this season yet so maybe CC will get her slot. But their are other guards that could get the slot as well.
Clark’s stats in the WNBA suggest she should have been picked over the 5-time Olympian. Of course, experience matters, but there is plenty of experience on that team. I can see your argument.
I know they aren't technically the same thing, but it's all women's basketball. They should, on some level, work in tandem to promote the sport. What's the olympic team without the wnba? Probably just a bunch of players playing overseas coming home every 4yrs with little or now fanfare. What's the wnba without the olympics? A league no one really cares about and is held up by the nba.
And, like i've said in other posts, i couldn't care a whole lot less as i won't watch either of them (wbna or the olympic team) regardless of who is playing. So, I've got no skin in the game, either way. If the WNBA stopped as a league at the end of the week, it would affect me exactly zero. If the olympics were no more, it would mean 0 mins of my life lost as i don't watch it.
What it comes down to for me is, you have a league/sport BEGGING for people to watch and they are making a decision to ignore what would seem like the possibility for a few million more fans to add to the fold.
Really ? Taurasi is averaging 16.6 points and 4.8 rebounds. She has earned the spot. She helped grow women's basketball way before Clark. She deserves a chance at another gold, had done nothing but be a model player for years.
Here is my very easy to understand without all of the BS factored in, opinion on the matter.
If we are basing her selection off of selling tickets, garnering media exposure, yes she should make the team.
If we are trying to build the best roster based on production, experience, and positions needed, no she should not make the team. I have seen several say "she should have made it over Griner", well no, one is a center, one is a guard. Is she one of the BEST 4/5 guards in the WNBA ? NO. Look at the guards who was selected, compare the whole body of work with Clark, it is not even a debate.
But first, remove all of the bullshit surrounding the selection before trying to look at it with an honest evaluation.
Really. They score and rebound about the same. Clark dishes out way more assists. Statistically, it is easy to make the case that Clark should have been picked.
The rest of your argument is not relevant to me any more than the marketing argument for the Clark supporters.
If we are going off stats Clark isn’t even the one to put on over Taurasi.
I guess you could then turn your attention to Chelsea Gray who hasn’t played this year .
I guess you could then turn your attention to Chelsea Gray who hasn’t played this year .
It is obvious you left out one very important stat, turnovers. And she leads the league by a WIDE margin. Why only the good ? Shooting %'s ? Not good either.
I do think it's fair that she's not on there. But aren't some that ARE on the team lesser than her?
The comment was "legit star bringing eyes".
No one (with a brain) is saying that CC is the first star, but the relative brightness of those previous stars is dim in comparison to the following she has. For whatever reason, CC has just taken the women's basketball world by storm.
NONE of the UConn women have come close. Candice Parker or any other UT player during their dominant run? Nope. Lisa Leslie? Nope. Sheryl Swoopes? Named a top 20 WNBA player and had a long and successful national team career...again, nope. Cheryl Miller? Granted there was no WNBA, but she was probably the most famous woman player of her day...still, nope.
Don't know that it has much to do with her being white, either. Rebecca Lobo, Diana Turasi, Sue Byrd, Kelsey Plum, Sabrina Ionescu, to name just a few, are all white players that didn't get the attention CC is getting. NO ONE, regardless of the identity you choose to divide by, in women's basketball has brought this much attention to the game. Just look at the ratings from the last 2 Final Fours compared to the 6 or 7 years previous to that combined and it seems to be carrying over to some extent into the wnba.
I think you could go with Chelsea Gray since she hasn’t played this year. Gray is pretty good when she plays though .Taurasi really is a toss up but not shocking they went with experience there.
I do think most of the “hate” on Clark is overblown in terms of the actually women playing in the league . Seems like most of the hate is from the fans which has basically turned into a racial war on social media lol.
I'll have to take a look at that. The fans the other night bood that girl for mocking Clark and the fans were the girls home fans! Clarke was on the road, lol. Even opposing team's fans are sick of it.
Scum like Sunny Hostin doesn't help when she addresses her situation and she says she beleieves there's such a thing as white privelege and tall privelage and pretty privelige.
In a perfect world, you would want to pick the 12 best players or the 12 players to make the best team. Those might not always be the same, but it would probably match up pretty well. Anyway...
Is CC one of the best 12 players eligible to play for Team USA? Probably not. But i don't watch to know, but based no what i've heard/read, no.
Are all 12 selected the best at their position? I'm gonna guess no based on some comments i've, again, heard or read elsewhere, but for the most part, when you combine their experience in with it, most, if not all the selections seem to be legit.
So, given CC isn't one of the 12 best players in the league or the best at her position and her international experience pales next to the other players, strictly playing-wise, she doesn't belong on this team.
BUT, the WNBA specifically and women's basketball in general, certainly don't exist in a perfect world.
IF you replaced the last player picked with ANYONE (not necessarily CC), would it likely affect the outcome of the olympics? No. Last year, they won all 8 games by at least 19pts. The last player on the 2020 team played 3.8mins per in 4 games (didn't play in 4 others) and had a total of 3pts, 3rebs and 3 turnovers.
So, given that, is having CC on the team going to have a measurable, negative effect on the outcome? Odds are pretty good that it would NOT.
Which leads us to the popularity/marketing angle. I'm with the earn it with your play/experience 99% of the time. However, this is a completely different set of circumstances. CC is THE most popular women's basketball player in the world right now. Not even sure that it's close. The WNBA/women's basketball hasn't exactly been the most popular league/sport around from the very beginning. Any other league would've folded 10+yrs ago, but they have the backing of the NBA holding them up.
Just makes no sense.
CC should've been on the team for popularity reasons alone. The women's game needs fans, period. What other time/place than the Olympics. It's a world stage. The kicker is, she can actually play. Is she perfect? No, not at all, but she has more than proven she can play well enough and she most certainly brings eyes to the TV (just check out the last 2 NCAAT ratings for the women's side).
Seems like an opportunity squandered.
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