Sue Bird Addresses Caitlin Clark's Inclusion on Team USA 2028 Olympics Roster

After being named managing director for Team USA women's basketball, Sue Bird addressed Caitlin Clark potentially being named to the 2028 Olympics roster.

Sue Bird attends a ceremony to honor the Gotham FC 2023 NWSL Championship team on September 23, 2024. | IMAGO / Newscom World

On May 6, news broke that WNBA legend Sue Bird has been named the managing director for the USA women’s national team for the 2028 Olympic cycle. This means that she'll play a massive (perhaps even leading) role in deciding both the coaches for Team USA women's basketball's 2028 Olympics coaching staff and its roster.

Of course, the fact that Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark wasn't included on the 2024 Team USA Olympic squad created a ton of controversy for what felt like months heading up to the Paris 2024 games.

Bird addressed how she would have handled Clark's inclusion on the 2024 team during a May 8 interview on The Dan Patrick Show.

"Honestly, I have to just say that I respected the committee's job. I understood what was at play, I understood the pros and cons... And I think at the end of the day, it's hard to criticize a gold medal," Bird said when asked directly whether she would have put Clark on the 2024 Team USA roster.

"A lot of people see the final game against France, they see only winning by a couple points, and they view that as some sort of indicator. But the reality is we've been having close games at the Olympics for years... Winning a close game like that, that wasn't anything new, that didn't have anything to do with the roster."

Bird was then asked whether Clark will be on the 2028 Team USA Olympics roster.

"I mean, you know. TBD," Bird said with a big smile. "We've got three years."

While the rosters for the 2028 Olympic Games are still a long way away from being finalized, Bird's smile when asked about Clark being on the team speaks volumes.