Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images Ishaan Bhattacharya Sun, October 25, 2026 at 6:28 AM UTC · 2 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries ran off the WNBA Finals court during the U.S. national anthem for the fourth game in a row.
One of the biggest off-court talking points surrounding the 2026 WNBA Finals is that both teams have been intentionally walking off the court when the U.S. national anthem plays.
Neither team has confirmed or denied whether this is a silent protest, but the buzz around this situation keeps growing. With many fans tuning in just to see whether the national anthem will be respected, Game 4 saw a repeat of the teams walking off.
After the Dream and Valkyries players both ran off the court, an OutKick reporter asked a State Farm Arena employee for details on what the players do during the anthem, who revealed that the players just stand in the hallway until the anthem ends before returning to the court.
"A State Farm Arena employee told me the Dream literally just stand in the hallway for two minutes while the anthem plays and then immediately return to the court as soon as it's done."
The Dream fell to a 67-62 loss at home in Game 4 of the WNBA Finals, with two major factors uniting the squads: Both are extremely solid defensively, and both walk off the court for the national anthem together.
The matter of the national anthem has become a major talking point despite it having no impact on what the teams are actually doing on the court. However, athletes 'disrespecting' the national anthem has been a sore spot for certain fanbases for years.
Even LeBron James came under fire from President Donald Trump himself for practising his golf swing during the national anthem.
The WNBA players will presumably face this pressure after each game they skip the national anthem on the court, but if they remain focused on their actual performance when the game starts, they won't see any reason to start standing for the anthem now.
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Source: Sports
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