Basketball stars branded ‘cowards’ after going missing for US national anthem

Both teams competing in this year’s WNBA Finals have come under significant fire after leaving the court before the US national anthem was sung. The players returned just seconds after the singing stopped.

Now critics are demanding that the league fine both sides for what they’re calling a show of disrespect.

Players from top sides Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries were absent while Bay Area singer Goapele performed The Star-Spangled Banner at San Francisco’s Chase Center on Saturday.

The ceremony took place before the opening game of the women’s basketball championship series, with thousands of spectators gathered inside.

Both teams had been warming up on the floor beforehand. They then disappeared for the two minutes that the anthem lasted. Almost immediately after Goapele finished, all the players jogged back out.

Their reason for leaving hasn’t been established, despite accusations online that they had snubbed their country. There’s no confirmed explanation that identifies their absence as a protest or establishes whether the teams coordinated it.

OutKick reporter Dan Zaksheske, who attended the game, wrote on X: ‘Both the Dream and the Valkyries left the court prior to the playing of the National Anthem before Game 1 of the WNBA Finals.

‘Both teams also returned to the floor seconds after the anthem concluded. They literally left the floor for only the two minutes the anthem was played. Guess that’s just part of the pregame routine though.’

Footage of Goapele singing circulated on social media, where some viewers accused the players of disrespecting the US.

‘Disgraceful. The arena should keep playing it on repeat until they stay and stand for it,’ the person posted. Others wanted the competition’s bosses to intervene, with another writing: ‘Disgusting. Any decent commissioner would fine both teams.’

One angry critic asked: ‘Can you be much worse, disrespectful cowards to this country?’

Alongside those critiques were complaints that the episode had drawn attention away from the basketball itself.

Broadcaster Emily Austin directed her criticism at the league’s leadership. She wrote: ‘The WNBA has incredible talent and somehow manages to make everything BUT basketball the headline.’ She added: ‘These women deserve better leadership’.

The league’s own rule book does actually address how players should behave during the national anthem. Its 2026 edition says that all players, coaches and trainers should stand and line up ‘in a dignified posture’ along the sidelines or on the foul line. That instruction appears in a section covering player and team conduct and dress.

The anthem clause doesn’t, however, specify any kind of penalty for failing to follow that instruction. It also doesn’t say that players must place their hands over their hearts, a gesture that has prompted a separate row involving WNBA players this year.

Atlanta’s history of supporting anthem protests has also been raised in coverage of Saturday’s incident. In August 2020, the Dream included messaging from the WNBA players’ union in their game notes. It explained the thinking behind demonstrations during the ceremony.

The statement said ‘the anthem does not represent freedom, justice and liberty for all Americans’. That wording dates from six years ago and doesn’t establish why either team left the court at the weekend.

Other WNBA teams have previously used the ceremony to highlight racial injustice. At the opening game of the delayed 2020 season, Seattle Storm and New York Liberty players walked off before the anthem was played. That demonstration accompanied a dedication of the season to Breonna Taylor.

Taylor was shot and killed by police in her Kentucky home in March that year. Players also observed 26 seconds of silence, marking her age when she died.

More recently, remaining on court hasn’t spared players criticism over their conduct during the anthem. Caitlin Clark and her Indiana Fever teammates faced an online backlash in August because they didn’t cover their hearts. They were standing during the performance.

Fan footage showed Sophie Cunningham as the only Fever player making the gesture, earning her praise from some viewers as a ‘patriot’. Her teammates’ decision not to do the same attracted complaints. As with Saturday’s incident, their behaviour became a talking point beyond the game.

Golden State won Saturday’s opener 68-64 to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven Finals. The teams meet again at Chase Center on Monday night. Both franchises are chasing their first championship.

Whether or not they’ll be on court for The Star-Spangled Banner remains to be seen.

MORE: Man who died in 150ft stadium fall named

MORE: AI giant says government can block a bot’s use ‘if it could kill more than 50 people’

MORE: Trump fires bumbling White House press secretary Katie Zacharia after just 5 days