Arike Ogunbowale Took Herself Out Of Olympic Talent Pool Because The Process Is Too 'Political'

Caitlin Clark may have been left off the USA women’s basketball Olympic roster for obscure reasons, but that’s not the case with Arike Ogunbowale.

The Dallas Wings guards spoke with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Ochocinco on the "Nightcap" podcast earlier this week, and discussed how the Olympic roster is constructed on the women’s side. Originally, Ogunbowale was one of the people in position to earn one of the 12 spots.

However, she withdrew her name from the pool on her own volition, not because she thought she wasn’t talented enough to make the team, but because she didn’t like the "political" process for how the team is chosen.

"Honestly, when it comes to that stuff, it really doesn't have much to do with your game, it’s really about who they feel fits with the team," Ogunbowale said.

"When I think of women’s basketball and just however many years I've been playing, politics is always surrounding it," she continued. "There’s politics in everything, so I'm going to leave it at that."

The fact that Ogunbowale said that politics is involved in assembling these teams isn’t that big of a surprise, That’s prevalent in every sport. However, it is worth noting that a player who has averaged more than 20 points per game in her 6-year career feels like she can’t make an Olympic roster because she might not "fit with the dynamic" of the team. 

While how a team bonds off the court certainly is important and affects how well the players bond, that shouldn’t be one of the biggest factors in your roster choices.