Stephen A. Smith responds to Caitlin Clark’s ‘marketing’ speech and claims that the US women’s team was a box office failure in Paris

STEPHEN A. Smith has maintained his stance that Team USA missed the opportunity to feature Caitlin Clark during the Paris Olympics.

The 56-year-old ESPN star shared her thoughts on Clark not being part of the US women’s team that won gold against France on the weekend.

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During his latest edition of The Stephen A. Smith Show, the First Take analyst acknowledged that the Americans “got it” in their 67-66 gold medal victory against host country France.

But Stephen A. believes that the US team did not receive ideal support at their games in Paris, which could have been avoided if Clark had been part of the squad according to him.

“There were approximately over 13,000 people who attended Team USAgames for women,” Smith said.

“I thought Caitlin Clark needed to be on the team.

“The box office is important. … Now, you’ve come home with the gold. You’ve taken care of your business.

“But when it comes to marketing the sport, I think Team USA missed an opportunity to raise the profile of female excellence in the sport of basketball.”

Still, the Americans won their eighth consecutive gold medal and have not lost at the Olympics in 61 games.

Stephen A.’s latest comments echo his earlier sentiments during First Take.

When the news came out that Team USA didn’t pick Clark for the team, Smith shared that she was overlooked by the team and said the Iowa Hawkeyes rookie star would have helped the USA when it came to “marketing.”

Stephen A. also shared his opinion on his self-titled podcast that rookie Angel Reese should have joined the club.

“I think when you look at Team USA basketball, I still think Caitlin Clark should be on the team. And to a lesser extent, Angel Reese,” he said.

“I think she should be on the team too.”

Both Clark and Reese helped the WNBA’s popularity increase exponentially.

The duo appeared in the All-Star game when the college rivals and league newcomers played against Team USA.

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Clark and Reese helped claim victory over the future Team USA Gold Winners.

Both stars got a much-needed break when they were called up by their respective WNBA teams just weeks after the end of the college basketball season.

Reese traveled to Paris to watch both Team USA teams play their exhibition games.

Meanwhile, Clark took a trip to New York over the weekend.

THE NCAA The all-time leading scorer attended the New York Yankees game, where she met star Aaron Judge before the game.

Clark and Reese are expected to make the 2028 U.S. Olympic team.