Leaves the Court During Anthem So close to the start of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Tuesday night, the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries stopped proceedings and headed to the locker room, returning to the court just after the singing of the national anthem had concluded.
Their abrupt departure, per the league’s own guidelines that instruct players, coaches and team staff to line up along the sidelines or foul lines for the anthem, has been met with fierce discussions among sports fans and pundits as to what may have prompted the collective exit… and return.
Since then, the league, the Atlanta Dream and the Golden State Valkyries have been mum, ignoring follow-up phone calls from media and refusing to explain to the public what their actions imply.
Reporters covering the game said neither team spoke to the anthem omission during post-game press conferences, and the WNBA has yet to tell the media how, if at all, the league plans to discipline the players or enforce the presence of the anthem during Game 2, which is next week.
All of this adds to the mysterious lack of public knowledge about the teams’ decisions ahead of what will now be a three-game series.
With the league’s management of the protocol enforcement under a spotlight, sports commentators on the issue say the debate has bigger implications for how professional sports are managed and held publicly accountable.
With the league’s public documentation of what it expected from pregame ceremonies and a lack of any public statement from the league or the teams, it appears to be an open-ended question to whether players will stay on the court for the next anthem or if the league will issue any official instructions – all eyes will definitely be on the court as the high-profile playoff series continues.