As Crystal Renee Hayslett was about to take the court to sing the national anthem, cameras zoomed in. Players from both the Atlanta Dream and the Golden State Valkyries were jogging toward their respective locker rooms. It was the fourth consecutive 2026 Finals game in which players left the court before the national anthem, but this time, in Game 4, it was a bit different.
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Outkick’s WNBA reporter, Dan Zaksheske, posted a video on X showing the players leaving the court and jogging back out right after the national anthem ended. But he also noticed a similar pattern in the stands.
“Both WNBA Finals teams left the court for the national anthem for the fourth straight game,” he wrote in the X post. “Many fans in Atlanta also remained seated during the performance, several with their hats still on.”
Turns out, like the teams, some fans chose not to stand, though they remained in the stands rather than leaving the venue. Both teams and some fans refused to stand, though in different ways.
The players leaving the court before the anthem has been one of the issues drawing backlash, and Zaksheske has been highlighting it since Game 1. On Thursday, President Donald Trump also criticized players for their actions and even called for a boycott of the WNBA.
In an interview with FOX, one fan lashed out at the players, calling them “raggedy” for refusing to stand for the national anthem.
“I do not support the WNBA,” the angry fan asserted. “I think those chicks are very raggedy, and I wish we would get back to the veterans like Lisa Leslie, Diana Taurasi, those people. This new generation is very, very disrespectful.”
Joining the fan, TV Laura Ingraham also expressed displeasure, especially calling out the Dream star player Angel Reese.
“Ungrateful brats. They’re just brats. Rules don’t apply to them. That’s Angel Reese. They’re the crowd that doesn’t have to abide by the rules because they’re special,” Ingraham said. “Because everybody’s told them they’re special their whole lives. So they can do no wrong, and everyone else has to just sit back and clap and say, ‘Isn’t this beautiful? You go girl!'”
But this is not the first time players have chosen not to be on the court during the national anthem. During the 2020 season, the Dream stayed in the locker room to protest against racism and violence.
Moreover, according to ABC, players have been leaving the court before the anthem in the WNBA for at least six years.
The Valkyries have said that they are not doing anything different from what they have done in the past. They said their pregame routine has been the same since their first-ever game in 2025. The practice has been the same in Atlanta for several years.
Interestingly, the league had a policy in place regarding the national anthem. According to Section H of the “Basic Principles” in the WNBA’s policy, the league’s rules require players, coaches, and trainers to stand and line up in a dignified posture along the sidelines or on the foul line during the national anthem.
However, it is worth noting that the national anthem policy was suspended in 2017, meaning players and coaches no longer had to follow the rule. Since then, the WNBA has not explicitly enforced the policy or given any further update on the suspension.
In this year’s Finals, the players have defended their actions, saying that they have been shutting out everything to help them focus on the game. Rhyne Howard, the Dream star, finally opened up about the team’s decision to skip the national anthem.
“I don’t think I’ve been on the floor for the national anthem for any of my tenure in Atlanta, so if that’s what people are gonna look to nitpick for then so be it,” Howard said, via Dan Zaksheske on X. “But as far as competing for your team, when I go put on the USA jersey, I’m out for the national anthem every time; there’s no doubt about it.”
“Yes, I love the country that I play for, and I love what we have here,” she added.
Howard and Angel Reese were both on Team USA at the FIBA World Cup in Germany, where they stood for the national anthem. It appears the league has left the national anthem policy to the discretion of its teams.