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Sports · North America

Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries leave before anthem at WNBA Finals

Players from the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries went to the locker room before the national anthem at Game 2 of the WNBA Finals, the New York Post reported. The outlet said they came back onto the court after the anthem ended.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 5 outlets' reporting · Article text read from 1 of 5 outletsHow it's made

View timeline · 9 entries
5 outlets2 regionsLatest reporting 2 min read
Coverage: MixedL 0 · C 3 · R 2
Updat3 graphic: Golden State Valkyries
Updat3 graphic

What happened

Key facts

  • The New York Post reported that the players returned after the anthem ended.
  • The New York Post reported that the reason the teams did not stay for the anthem was unknown.
  • The Atlanta organization said in a 2020 statement that the anthem did not represent “freedom, justice and liberty for all Americans.” (per New York Post).

The brief

Players from the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries went to the locker room before the national anthem at Game 2 of the WNBA Finals, the New York Post reported. The outlet said they came back onto the court after the anthem ended. It described the departure as the teams’ second time choosing not to stay for the anthem during the Finals.

The New York Post said the players left just minutes before singer Alanis Morrisette performed the anthem. Its account said the reason the teams did not remain for the ceremony was unknown. The article described the players’ departure and return but did not provide an explanation from either team.

The outlet also reported that the Atlanta organization had issued a statement in 2020 saying the anthem did not represent “freedom, justice and liberty for all Americans.” The New York Post connected that earlier statement to its account of the Atlanta organization’s past protest of the anthem. It did not establish that the 2020 statement explained the teams’ choice at Game 2.

The headlines from other outlets add distinct characterizations of the episode. AOL said the repeated move drew backlash, while Yahoo Sports described it as sparking outrage. Fox News said the teams acted despite a rulebook requirement, and The Times of India called the episode a controversy.

Those headlines do not supply further details about the reactions, the rulebook provision, or the teams’ reasons. The central event was the teams’ absence from the court during the anthem and their return afterward, as described by the New York Post. The source did not report a statement from the Valkyries or a new explanation from the Dream about Game 2.

Its account therefore leaves the reason for the repeated choice unclear, alongside the outlet’s reference to the Atlanta organization’s 2020 statement.

Why it matters

  • The New York Post reports that players from both teams missed the anthem at Game 2 and returned afterward, placing the teams’ on-court participation in the ceremony at issue.
  • The New York Post describes this as the teams’ second such choice during the Finals, so the action was repeated rather than isolated.
  • The Atlanta organization’s 2020 statement said the anthem did not represent “freedom, justice and liberty for all Americans,” providing a documented earlier position related to the ceremony.

What to watch next

  • Whether the Atlanta Dream explains why its players left before the anthem at Game 2.
  • Whether the Golden State Valkyries explains why its players left before the anthem at Game 2.
  • Whether either team addresses the rulebook requirement cited in the Fox News headline.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
5 source articles · 5 unique outlets
Outlet political mix: Mixed· 3 Center · 2 Right
Where the outlets are based: US/Canada 80% · Asia 20%
Outlet political mix
Mixed
Left
Center
Right
0 outlets
3 outlets
2 outlets
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
5 unique outletsDominant coverage: US/Canada
Coverage imbalance
  • Coverage is currently concentrated among outlets based in US/Canada (4 of 5 geographically-identified sources).
How we measure coverage

How outlets' accounts compare

Updat3 does not yet have enough full reports to compare how outlets framed this story.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. The WNBA played its inaugural season.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  2. The Atlanta Dream joined the WNBA.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  3. In August 2016, Seattle Seahawks player Jeremy Lane also sat during the anthem; Kaepernick and teammate Eric Reid later knelt after consulting former NFL player and Green Beret Nate Boyer.
    Background · from our historical context
  4. The Atlanta Dream said the anthem did not represent “freedom, justice and liberty for all Americans.”
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  5. The practice drew renewed attention after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd on May 25, 2020.
    Background · from our historical context
  6. In June 2020, WNBA players wore warm-up shirts bearing Floyd’s name and the phrase “Black Lives Matter,” linking league-wide demonstrations to the wider movement against racial injustice.
    Background · from our historical context
  7. Golden State announced it would add a WNBA expansion team.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  8. Golden State named its WNBA expansion team the Valkyries.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  9. The Valkyries played their inaugural WNBA season.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3

How we got here

The Atlanta Dream’s stance toward the national anthem was documented by 2020, when the organization said it did not represent “freedom, justice and liberty for all Americans,” according to a statement cited by the New York Post.

In August 2016, Seattle Seahawks player Jeremy Lane also sat during the anthem; Kaepernick and teammate Eric Reid later knelt after consulting former NFL player and Green Beret Nate Boyer. The practice drew renewed attention after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd on May 25, 2020.

Original sources

1 of 5 articles · Asia · Show all

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