WNBA Finals coaches struggled to explain why their teams have continued leaving the court during the national anthem throughout the championship series.
Players from both the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries have remained in their locker rooms during performances of “The Star-Spangled Banner” during the Finals.
The decision has sparked anger among fans and attracted criticism from Donald Trump, who warned that the WNBA teams would “destroy themselves before they get started.”
Before Saturday night’s Game 4, Dream head coach Karl Smesko and Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase were both asked about their teams’ decision to leave the court for the anthem.
Speaking to OutKick, Nakase said: ‘We’re two years in, that’s been part of our pregame. So that’s been our focus. We do our pregame the way we decided to do it.
“Like I just mentioned, we are locked in, focused on the details, learning from our losses and focused on how we can get better and make sure we win Game 4.”
Ahead of Game 4 of the WNBA Finals, Dream head coach Karl Smesko and Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase were asked about the decision to leave the court for the national anthem
Players from both teams have left the court during the national anthem performances throughout the series
Asked who made the final decision for the team to remain off the court, she replied: “I really don’t know. I understand your question, I’m not trying to not answer your question—it’s just part of our pre-game.”
When the issue was raised with Dream coach Smesko, he said: “We’re just kind of focused on the Finals and getting prepared to beat Golden State.”
Smesko declined to elaborate further.
The controversy was also put to Dream guard and USA international Rhyne Howard, who played down the attention surrounding the team’s absence from the court during the anthem.
“I mean, are we just talking about these three games or are we talking about the whole season? I don’t think I’ve been on the floor for the national anthem for any of my tenure in Atlanta.
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“If that’s what people are going to look to nitpick for, then so be it. But as far as competing for your team, when I go put on a USA jersey, I’m out on the court for the national anthem every time. There’s no doubt about it.
“Yes, I love the country that I play for and I love what we have here. But I don’t think that’s what needs to be talked about.”
The league’s official rulebook states that players must stand and line up during the national anthem.
Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries players left the court before the national anthem ahead of Game 3 of the WNBA Finals
Donald Trump has claimed the WNBA is at risk of “destroying itself” and urged fans to turn it off
Despite that requirement, players from both teams have appeared to disregard the rule during the Finals.
Most recently, the Dream and Valkyries were seen returning to their locker rooms shortly before Q Parker performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” ahead of Game 3 in Atlanta.
After the incident, Trump addressed the issue at a Republican rally in Iowa on Thursday night, asking: “By the way, what’s going on with the Women’s NBA? What’s that all about?”
Those in attendance booed as he continued: ‘You know, they’ll destroy themselves before they get started. Because they just started to do good.’
The boos briefly turned to cheers as he referenced former Iowa college stand-out Caitlin Clark, now with the Indiana Fever, and her role in the league’s growth, stating: ‘And you have a player here who was very good, very helpful to that.’
Trump then continued, suggesting the league should take warning from the backlash the NFL faced when Colin Kaepernick led a wave of anthem protests in 2016.
‘No, it’s a big deal going on,’ he added. ‘They leave the court when the national anthems play. What’s that all about?
‘You know, the NFL did that for a while and they stopped because people stopped watching the games. So I think you should do the same thing with women’s basketball.’
