Los Angeles Sparks star Nneka Ogwumike's Olympics snubs 'a travesty,' Derek Fisher says

Los Angeles Sparks coach Derek Fisher ripped USA Basketball for its decision Monday to leave forward Nneka Ogwumike off the U.S. women's basketball Olympic squad, calling the ongoing omission of the six-time All-Star and former MVP a "travesty.""Where do I start? Neither was Ogwumike, who ended up being the season MVP while Parker was WNBA Finals MVP in 2016 as the Sparks won the league championship.Parker, asked Tuesday after Chicago's win over New York about the omission of her former teammate, said she thinks "politics" played a role and that they did with her own Olympic omission in 2016, which ended her national team career."There's a number of players who are deserving ... Team USA took Diana Taurasi (2004), Parker (2008) and Breanna Stewart (2016) to the Olympics in their rookie seasons when they were No. 1 picks.Ogwumike has been one of the most prominent WNBA figures off the court for her role as president of the executive committee for the players union. In 2020, she was instrumental in helping the union and league reach a new collective bargaining agreement and getting the players to agree to live and compete in the bubble in Bradenton, Florida, because of the pandemic.Ogwumike's omission drew multiple rebukes online, including from her sister and Sparks teammate, Chiney Ogwumike; former Stanford teammate and basketball analyst Ros Gold-Onwude; and former WNBA player Devereaux Peters, who competed collegiately at Notre Dame and criticized USA Basketball and the selection process.The committee that selects the Olympic team is made up of five members: USA women's national team director Carol Callan, former Olympian and current Minnesota Lynx assistant Katie Smith, WNBA head of league operations Bethany Donaphin, Connecticut Sun coach Curt Miller and UConn coach Geno Auriemma, who coached the 2012 and 2016 Olympic teams.After Tuesday's Sun game, Miller was asked about the decision-making process for the Olympic team.