Hailey Van Lith insisted the officials were to blame for Team USA’s exit from the basketball 3x3 at the Paris Olympics .
On Monday, Van Lith scored eight points and left it all out on the court but it wasn’t enough as Team USA fell to Spain in the semi-finals. Spain clinched the 18-16 overtime victory, with Sandra Ygueravide leading the way with nine points - including the game-sealing free throws.
Team USA were then forced to face Canada for bronze after their North American rivals lost to Germany in the other semi-final. Van Lith helped her nation win bronze, securing the 16-13 victory.
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However, the TCU star was frustrated . Following the loss to Spain, Van Lith took issue with the referees and insisted the game was “rigged”.
“This was 1,000 percent BS,” she said. “Those refs wanted the U.S. to lose. They were flopping left and right. They are not that good. Great job ladies. We know who should have won.”
During the “Pat McAfee Show”, NBA insider Brian Windhorst suggested Van Lith’s theory was somewhat substantiated. He believes the global basketball governing body FIBA hopes other countries excel in 3x3.
“FIBA doesn’t really want the USA to do good at three-on-three basketball,” Windhorst said. “They really want that to be for countries that can’t field 5-on-5 teams.
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“So they do all these things, like they have all these different layers and layers of things you have to do to qualify. I don’t just mean the team. I’m talking about no, like, Kyrie [Irving] can’t just show up and play. The only way you can play is if you play in like 15 qualifying events. It’s not 15, I’m just coming up with that number.”
He added: “They don’t want guys from America.”
Windhorst then added that 3x3 was a discipline WNBA rising star and women's basketball phenom Caitlin Clark could have contributed since the Indiana Fever rookie was not named to the women’s USA Basketball team to go to Paris. However, he then played it down, as FIBA have other goals.
“FIBA doesn’t care about ratings, they just care about, like, growing the game elsewhere outside the U.S. so it’s not their priority,” the ESPN analyst concluded.
In 3x3 basketball, chemistry and fluidity are paramount. Van Lith and co. struggled to find rhythm amid the difficult conditions presented to them by the officials - but they still clinched bronze over France.
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