The WNBA wouldn’t be the WNBA without some kind of drama that has nothing to do with the game. With the Atlanta Dream and Angel Reese captivating the South with their WNBA Finals run against Golden State, the league is once again under attack from right-wing fans who are still obsessed with athletes standing for the anthem.
White NBA Fans and Media Creating False Narrative Of National Anthem Protest
It’s become the MAGA go-to for fans who want to say something negative about Black athletes who are shining.
Both WNBA teams have come under criticism by fans who say they are offended that both teams run off the court before the anthem is played, and have done this for all three finals games. The fans didn’t seem to care or notice, but it became a thing in the comment section when Fox News and Outkick posted a clip on Instagram and then brought attention to it as if the player were disrespectful to the military.
It’s that old, tired Colin Kaepernick argument that keeps resurfacing. With some low-IQ people believing that it was some sort of protest against the country.
“They get paid to play a sport in a country that promotes them, sells their good services and endorses them and they walk off the court and protest of what??” one outraged fan commented.
“WNBA sucks, they’ll just lose more rating,” another fan cticized on Instagram.
“Hopefully the league folds. Boycott their sponsors,” one netizen suggested.
“Nobody cares about the Beer league and cornhole more legit,” another netizen quipped.
“This is disrespectful. And I wasn’t even born in America,” expressed one Instagram user.
“The WNBA continues to show us why it’s such an unlikeable league as the players stepped off the court and into the locker room during the national anthem…” one user posted on X.
Is This Even A Real Issue?
We have to call a spade a spade in this instance. It’s really only white people and immigrants who are trying to twist this into something negative. Despite all of the unnecessary banter about patriotism and Black women being ungrateful to this country for opportunities in pro basketball.
Under WNBA rules the players did nothing wrong. WNBA players often do not come out for the national anthem because the league suspended its mandatory anthem-standing protocol in 2017, allowing teams to stay in the locker room as part of their pregame routine.
One fan called the publication out on its careless reporting.
“Outkick is hired by the CIA to spit out this nonsense. If you didn’t believe me before, the sources are there. WNBA players/teams have been routinely skipping the national anthem for many years now. It’s nothing new. Why didn’t they complain in 2025, 2024, etc?.”
Troublemakers such as former Olympic medalist Rowdy Gaines argue that those decisions should carry consequences when athletes seek to represent the United States internationally.
Why Are MAGA Fans Trying To Tear Down WNBA?
Gaines initially weighed in while sharing OutKick’s video of the Game 2 anthem absence.
“It’s my personal opinion that if you kneel for the flag and what it represents, you shouldn’t be able to represent the USA at the Olympics,” Gaines wrote on X.
Other white sports analysts and athletes chimed in on it. WFAN radio host Craig Carton said:
“Did every single player on the team really want to run into the locker room and not show some respect for the flag,” Carton asked. “What are there like 12 gals on each team and are all American. You’re telling me there’s not a single one of those girls who’s got the intestinal fortitude to say to those idiots… ‘I grew up in the United States of America and I’m going to put my hand over my heart…’”
It’s almost like nobody wants the WNBA to be about basketball. When the women are successful and the narrative doesn’t involve Caitlin Clark then a common theme is for people to cause chaos within the league’s fan base and throw shade on the perception casual fans have of the W.
Enes Kanter causing a big stink during the WNBA Finals and getting himself removed from the arena in his “defense of women” in sports is another example of people trying to steal the WNBA’s shining moment and politicize it. Those same people screamed from the rafters, “keep politics out of sports.” And “shut up and dribble.”
“The WNBA continues to show us why it’s such an unlikeable league as the players stepped off the court and into the locker room during the national anthem…,” @realmaxfaulkner, a self-proclaimed sports podcast host captioned on X above a video of the teams running off the court.
There seems to be another anti-WNBA fan rush, led by the usual suspects in media to target and discredit the league and its players as non-patriotic.
“They hate seeing women basketball grow,” one user commented.
Same old playbook.
