Off the Court for the Anthem for a Fourth Finals Game: Trump Boycott Call and Vance Criticism Heat Up WNBA Debate
On the biggest stage in American women’s basketball, both teams were again off the court during the national anthem. Before Game 4 of the WNBA Finals at State Farm Arena in Atlanta on Saturday, Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries players left the floor moments before the anthem and returned seconds after it ended. It was their fourth straight absence of the series.
Players were not the only ones. Many fans also remained seated during the performance, and some spectators kept their hats on. With the foul line standing empty while the anthem played, the scene set off a fresh round of debate across the sporting world and on social media.
Games 1 and 2 were played at Chase Center in San Francisco on October 17 and 19. The series then moved to Atlanta for Game 3 on October 21, which Atlanta won 97–71 to take a 2–1 lead in the best-of-seven series into Saturday’s Game 4. In each of the first three games, both teams had left shortly before the anthem and returned seconds after it ended, and Saturday followed exactly the same pattern.
The absences have drawn sharp political criticism. President Donald Trump urged fans to stop watching the WNBA at an October 22 rally in Iowa, and Vice President JD Vance called the absences disgraceful. A pregame routine has thus become part of a national political argument.
Asked about it on Friday, neither head coach offered a detailed explanation. Atlanta coach Karl Smesko said his team was simply focused on the Finals, and when asked whether he had any further comment on the anthem and the absences, he said no. An Atlanta public relations representative then moved on to the next question.
Dream guard Rhyne Howard was asked about calls to exclude players from Team USA if they do not stand for the anthem during the WNBA season. Howard said she has not been on the floor for the anthem at any point in her tenure in Atlanta, and if people want to nitpick that, so be it. But she was emphatic that when she puts on a USA jersey, she is out for the anthem every time, adding that she loves the country she plays for.
Howard and her Atlanta teammate Angel Reese represented the United States at September’s FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, where both stood for the anthem and the United States won gold. Golden State had no players on that United States roster, although Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase served as an assistant coach. That contrast has made the debate more complicated: the same players absent for club games are present for national-team games.
Golden State coach Natalie Nakase was asked whose decision it was for her team to stay off the court, and why. She said the team is two years in and that it has been part of their pregame routine. Asked again who decided it, she said she really did not know. During those 90 seconds, she said, she is with her staff and focused on her plays. Golden State’s public relations staff then moved to the next reporter.
Valkyries forward Gabby Williams was asked whether the absences are meant as a protest. She said the routine has been in place for about seven years and denied that it is a protest, but neither side has explained who established the practice or why it coincides with the anthem. Williams was born in Nevada, holds United States and French citizenship and represents France internationally. She joined Golden State this year after playing for Chicago from 2018 to 2020 and Seattle from 2022 to 2025.
There is a longer history here. During the 2017 Finals, Los Angeles Sparks players voted to remain in the locker room in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, according to reporting at the time. Atlanta also published players’ union messaging in its August 2, 2020 game notes, saying the anthem does not represent freedom, justice and liberty for all Americans and that players would continue to protest in various forms.
The rule itself is unclear. The WNBA’s 2026 official rulebook says players, coaches and trainers are to stand and line up in a dignified posture along the sidelines or on the foul line during the anthem. Yet the Associated Press reported on October 20 that the league suspended its anthem protocols in 2017, even though the provision remains in the 2026 rulebook, leaving open the question of which rule now applies.
Riley Gaines and former Georgia state representative Vernon Jones have argued that anthem conduct should carry consequences when athletes seek to represent the United States internationally, although Howard says she always stands when wearing the national jersey. Repeated requests for comment to the league, both teams’ front offices and NBA communications officials have gone unanswered; Friday’s responses came only from players and coaches in media sessions.
After four games, two arenas and a week of questions, both teams are still leaving the floor for the anthem. As the series continues, the argument off the court looks set to grow alongside the contest on it. What remains to be seen is whether the league clarifies its requirements, considers discipline, or lets the current practice continue.
