For a team that just won the World Cup title, even the small moments after the win can attract plenty of attention, and that turned out to be the case for Team USA. After taking down France for the gold medal in Berlin at the 2026 FIBA World Cup, the focus from fans had nothing to do with what happened on the court.
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As the national anthem played after the Americans won their fifth consecutive gold medal at the FIBA World Cup, the players lined up. Most players stood with their hands behind their backs, with Breanna Stewart and Sonia Citron notably placing a hand over their hearts. The clip was shared by the official WNBA account to celebrate the team’s accomplishments.
“Soaking it all in 🫶,” the WNBA’s X post read. “For the fifth time in a row, @usabasketball has won the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup!”
Fans, however, were not pleased with the way that the players stood, and immediately took to the comments section to call them out. One user criticized the team as a whole for not putting their hands over their hearts.
“Most of them can’t even put their hand over their heart while on the world stage. No business representing our country,” their comment read.
Notably, according to US federal law, in 36 U.S.C. §301, when the flag is displayed, people who are not in uniform “should face the flag and stand at attention with their right hand over the heart.” When the flag isn’t displayed, they should instead face the music. It should also be noted that the law says “should,” which means that this isn’t compulsory behavior.
Another fan noted that Caitlin Clark, in particular, didn’t hold her hand in front of her heart.
“Why doesn’t cc have her hand on her heart? 👀,” the fan wrote.
Clark is already one of the most scrutinized players on the roster, given that this is her first senior tournament representing the US, with this iteration of Team USA leaning more into youth with players like Clark, Angel Reese, and Sonia Citron.
Perhaps that’s why Citron, along with Stewart, holding her hand over her heart, caught the attention of users, some of whom praised the two.
“God Bless Stewie and Sonia. They got it right,” one such comment read.
Another fan came up with a theory for why only Stewart and Citron put their hands over their hearts.
“You can tell who went to a New York school and who didn’t. Paying no attention to the anthem, second nature Stewart and Citron to put their hand on their chest as if they were doing the pledge of allegiance. 🤣,” the fan joked.
Citron attended the Ursuline School in New Rochelle, New York, before making her way to Notre Dame for college. Meanwhile, Stewart grew up in the city before graduating from Cicero-North Syracuse High School. Of course, a theory like the fans’ cannot be verified, but it does highlight a strong connection between Stewart and Citron.
Another fan took the criticism even further, sarcastically pointing out how the difference in enthusiasm appeared to be between Team USA at the FIBA World Cup and a youth tournament.
“They look thrilled to be Americans. 🙄,” the post read, before adding, “This is how you do it ladies,” and attaching a video of the American team at the IIHF World Junior Championship finals.
The video was from 2024, when the USA beat Sweden 6-2 to claim the gold medal, and featured the players locking arms in a line while loudly singing the national anthem. Clearly, the fan was drawing a comparison in perceived patriotism between the two teams.
Regardless of how the fans reacted, Team USA has still etched itself in international women’s basketball history for its fifth-straight gold medal and 12th first-place finish in the FIBA World Cup. The different anthem postures simply became yet another story that started online and, for the most part, largely stayed confined there.