The Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries left the court before the WNBA national anthem on Saturday, then jogged back onto the floor almost as soon as it ended. The brief absence came ahead of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals at Chase Center, turning a standard pregame ritual into one of the night’s first talking points.
Both teams had been warming up on the floor before they disappeared for roughly two minutes during the Star-Spangled Banner. When the singer finished, they returned almost immediately. That left viewers with a sharp question that the moment did not answer: why did both teams step away at that exact point?
The reason was not immediately clear, but the scene carried echoes of the league’s own history. In its Aug. 2, 2020, game notes, Atlanta included messaging from the WNBA players' union saying the anthem does not represent freedom, justice and liberty for all Americans, and that protests would continue in different forms during the 2020 WNBA season. Saturday’s timing made that earlier statement feel newly relevant, even without a fresh explanation from either side.
Angel Reese was also part of the backdrop. She is no stranger to staying off the court during the national anthem, and the moment recalled a 2024 Elite Eight game in Albany, New York, when LSU played Iowa. Caitlin Clark and her Hawkeyes teammates stood together holding hands during the anthem, while Angel Reese and the Tigers were off the floor. After that game, Kim Mulkey was asked whether the anthem absence had been a conscious decision on her part, and she answered, “Honestly, I don't even know when the anthem was played,”
That is where the story now sits. The teams’ absence was visible and brief, but the meaning behind it remains unresolved. Until someone explains whether the move was protest, routine preparation, or something else entirely, Saturday’s most public pregame moment at the WNBA Finals will keep reading as a deliberate act without a declared purpose.
