WNBA Finals Begin with Both Teams Showing Utter Contempt for the United States

Both the Atlanta Dream and the Golden State Valkyries left the court immediately before the national anthem on Saturday night during the WNBA finals at Chase Center in San Francisco.

They returned two minutes later, after the singer, Goapele, finished.

The conduct was, of course, very unpatriotic and appears to be a violation of the 2026 WNBA rulebook, which states, “Players, coaches, and trainers are to stand and line up in a dignified posture along the sidelines or on the foul line during the playing of the National Anthem.”

Outkick’s Dan Zaksheske posted 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.”

He then noted, “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,” Zaksheske added, with a shoulder shrugging emoji.

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 🤷🏻‍♂️ https://t.co/mCuhfVMtQL

— Dan Zaksheske (@RealDanZak) October 17, 2026

He pointed out in an opinion piece for Fox News, “In its Aug. 2, 2020, game notes, Atlanta included messaging from the WNBA players’ union explaining anthem protests. The statement said ‘the anthem does not represent freedom, justice and liberty for all Americans’ and indicated that protests would continue in different forms.”

“That statement was made six years ago, during the 2020 WNBA season. The reasons for Atlanta’s and Golden State’s absences Saturday were not immediately clear,” Zaksheske said.

He rightly observed that it’s hard to imagine what pre-game prep could take place over the course of two minutes.

Zaksheske concluded, “And if your pregame routine requires leaving the court for the national anthem, it’s time for a new routine.”

Outkick’s Jon Root responded to the teams’ decision, posting on X, “This is anti-American, disgraceful behavior…”

“Honor our country & those that sacrificed their lives by standing for the national anthem on the court for 1 min. Shame on these women,” he added.

This is anti-American, disgraceful behavior…

No wonder so many sports fans can’t stand this left-wing political activist league.

Honor our country & those that sacrificed their lives by standing for the national anthem on the court for 1 min.

Shame on these women.

— Jon Root (@JonnyRoot_) October 18, 2026

Seriously, what is wrong with these women and the WBNA for failing to enforce its own rule?

As I highlight in my book, “We Hold These Truths: The Two Beliefs That Still Hold the Power to Transform the Nation and the World,” there is so much about America of which to be proud. And most relevant here: There is no country in human history that has done more to secure the rights of women and of minorities.

Further, the United States has been at the forefront of making that happen, in both cases, and ahead of its former mother country, Great Britain.

The U.S. secured the universal right of women to vote in 1920 (and many states did so before that), while in the U.K., it took until 1928 to make that happen.

My new book, “We Hold These Truths: The Two Beliefs That Still Hold the Power to Transform the Nation and the World,” is out, and it could not be more timely with #America250 and the rise of socialism. The book hits key moments in US history from the founding to today! https://t.co/6Vtf01SSQe

— Randy DeSoto (@RandyDeSoto) June 25, 2026

Further, the first emancipations in the U.S. took place during the Revolutionary War in individual states like Pennsylvania, and in all the northern states by the early 1800s. No other governments in the world were doing that at that time.

Britain did not outlaw slavery until 1831. And as Root noted, hundreds of thousands of Americans gave their lives during the Civil War in the early 1860s to end slavery in the U.S., well ahead of most other nations in the world. That is to say nothing of the millions killed, wounded, and missing in other wars so the U.S. could remain “the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

These women should also be proud of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and Title IX in 1972, the latter of which prohibited sex-based discrimination in education and sports.

Title IX is one of the main reasons we have a WNBA and U.S. women dominating the world stage in sports.

If these women playing in the WNBA Finals have some current beef against the United States or its leadership, they should stand courtside for the anthem anyway, for all the opportunities the country has afforded them and the price that has been paid to make that possible.

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