Dream, Valkyries Leave Court Before 2-Minute Anthem at WNBA Finals Game 1

Q: Was the Dream and Valkyries' sudden exit during the WNBA Finals anthem a calculated statement or a mere scheduling coincidence?

There is no verified evidence yet that the Dream and Valkyries made a deliberate protest statement; based on the available facts, the exit remains ambiguous and could just as plausibly have been part of pregame timing. What is known is limited. Both teams left the floor for roughly two minutes during the anthem before Game 1 at Chase Center and returned immediately after it ended. No team, coach, or league official had publicly explained the move at the time, so any claim that it was definitively planned as a statement goes beyond the evidence. Why the moment drew scrutiny is also clear. Atlanta has prior history on anthem issues, including a 2020 players’ union statement circulated in team materials saying the anthem did not represent “freedom, justice and liberty for all Americans.” That background makes the optics more loaded than a routine tunnel trip might otherwise be. At the same time, women’s basketball has no single standard for anthem presence, and some teams are off the floor during the anthem as a normal part of pregame operations. The closest comparison is LSU in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, when a similar exit prompted speculation but was later described by Kim Mulkey as scheduling, not protest. So the most responsible answer is that the scene looked meaningful because of Atlanta’s history and the timing, but without a direct explanation from the teams, it cannot be reported as a calculated statement rather than a scheduling coincidence.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 17

Atlanta and Golden State stepped off the floor before the national anthem ahead of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals at Chase Center, then returned within seconds of it ending.
Roughly 2 minutes separated their exit and return, and neither team immediately explained whether the move was part of pregame logistics or a deliberate statement.
Atlanta has prior anthem-protest history: the Dream's Aug. 2, 2020, game notes carried a players' union message saying the anthem did not represent freedom, justice and liberty for all Americans.
Angel Reese has been part of a similar scene before; LSU was off the court for the anthem before its 2024 Elite Eight game, which coach Kim Mulkey later said was routine rather than intentional.
The unexplained timing put anthem conduct back into focus on the WNBA's biggest stage, even without any public statement from either Finals team.