The Caitlin Clark chaos continues. And once again, it’s not something that she starts, but instead, the drama is about everything and everyone else.

Over the weekend, multiple reports confirmed that the women’s basketball phenom would be left off of a star-studded USA Women’s Basketball Team for the Paris Olympics.

The team prioritized veterans as seven of the 12 players who made the roster had already played on the team in the past, while two others played in the Olympics on the 3×3 team. That means only three players who made the team were not previously Olympians, though all have more WNBA experience than Clark.

Clark has undoubtedly been the catalyst for elevating the women’s game. After carrying Iowa to two consecutive NCAA National Championship appearances, she’s already had an impressive start to her WNBA career, winning Rookie of the Month in May.

Her exclusion from the team raised eyebrows and opened another chapter to the Caitlin Clark conversation, as it seemed like the conversation on her treatment and the league’s physicality was starting to fade.

What those who wanted Clark on Team USA are saying

Veteran journalist Christine Brennan, who has covered women’s sports since the 1980s, was one of the earliest and loudest voices who felt that Team USA should have put Clark on the roster.

Brennan, a columnist for USA Today, wrote a story for the outlet titled “Leaving Caitlin Clark off Olympic team, USA Basketball airballs on huge opportunity.”

In the story, Brennan wrote that the inclusion of Clark on the roster would have given the women’s basketball team “the spotlight they deserve from a national and global audience.”

In a previous column, Brennan also added that the inclusion of Clark over more veteran talents wouldn’t be the first time considering the men’s side had Duke star Christian Laettner on the 1992 Dream Team, while the women’s side has had the likes of Diana Taurasi and Breanna Stewart join their respective Olympic teams despite being WNBA rookies like Clark.

WNBA great Lisa Leslie also told The Sporting News in April that she believes Clark should be on the roster.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith called the decision to leave Clark off the team as “stupid.” He admitted that Clark may not be at the same level as the other players from a basketball standpoint, but he believes the conversation is not just about basketball.

What those defending Team USA’s decision have to say

There are many who are on the side of Team USA for their decision to trot out some of the best players.

Chiney Ogwumike, a former number one pick in the WNBA and someone who has been in the pipeline of Team USA through the U16 and U18 squads, said on “First Take” that she believes the mission of USA Basketball is “to construct the best basketball team in the world.”

“Team USA doesn’t select simply based off of fandom, especially when the world is catching up,” Ogwumike said.

The USA Women’s Basketball team is one of the most successful squads in the history of Olympic sports as the team has won seven straight gold medals. The team’s dominance indicates that it could throw a spot at a younger star like Clark, but Ogwumike mentioned that Team USA nearly lost to Belgium in the Olympic qualifying tournament earlier this year.