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OutKick readers blast WNBA players for hiding during Finals national anthem

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Cite

Kinsey, J. (2026, October 20). OutKick readers blast WNBA players for hiding during Finals national anthem. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/outkick-readers-blast-wnba-players-hiding-finals-national-anthem

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

Fox News · collected 2026-10-20 · by Joe Kinsey

Quick Summary

OutKick readers are criticizing WNBA players for leaving the court during the national anthem at the Finals games in San Francisco. The article notes that this behavior has occurred over two consecutive games without any official response from the league, despite a rulebook provision requiring player presence during the anthem performance. Readers express strong opinions, ranging from calls for disqualification of teams involved to viewing the WNBA as a politically activist organization rather than one focused on women’s basketball.
Written by AI on 2026-10-20, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The Golden State Valkyries and the Atlanta Dream have left the court before the national anthem during all four games of the WNBA Finals, continuing their long-standing practice that dates back at least seven years for some players. Some fans also remained seated during the performances. The WNBA's rulebook requires players to stand and line up during the national anthem, but no disciplinary action has been reported so far. Vice President JD Vance called the protest "disgraceful," while players from both teams have stated they are focusing on preparing for games rather than external criticism. The reason behind their actions was clarified by the Atlanta Dream's statement in 2020, where they said the anthem does not represent freedom, justice, and liberty for all Americans. Players like Gabby Williams of the Valkyries cite a longstanding routine but deny that their absence is meant as a protest. Despite the controversy, both teams have continued to follow this practice throughout the series.

Written for “WNBA Anthem Controversy” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 10 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 WNBA Anthem Controversy
Sports · 11 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans strongly right and hedges 3% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 11 claims Outlet record 66/100
Fox News
⚖️ Leans right further left than this Hedges 0 of 18 claims Outlet record 69/100
New York Post
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 1 of 14 claims Outlet record 66/100
New York Post
⚖️ Leans strongly right Hedges 1 of 10 claims Outlet record 66/100
Fox News
⚖️ Leans right further left than this Hedges 0 of 19 claims Outlet record 69/100
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 0 of 4 claims Outlet record 68/100
“Article A discusses WNBA players hiding during the national anthem, while Article B reports on a game result and upcoming match in the Finals series.”
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 17 claims Outlet record 64/100
“Article A discusses players stepping off the court during the national anthem in San Francisco, while Article B talks about a sold-out home game at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.”
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 19 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles discuss different time periods and perspectives related to the national anthem incident, with Article A focusing on reactions immediately following the incident and Article B reporting players' responses several days later.”
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans strongly left further left than this Hedges 4 of 63 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different incidents: one focuses on fan reactions during a game at Wilka’s Sports Bar, while the other discusses WNBA players stepping off the court before the national anthem.”
Fox News
Hedges 2 of 49 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the WNBA Finals games but do not describe the same specific incident or moment.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
66
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
3%
2 of 66 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
69/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
11
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-20 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6392 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Joe Kinsey
31 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Here I thought these two would grow old together Talk about a Friday night news dump.
🔮 So much for the narrative that French trans basketball player Julie Tetart couldn't make it in the WNBA.
🔮 Why wouldn't I take off the holidays?
🔮 Kylie Cantrall is back and she's hinting that the Brewers might want to bring her back for future anthems You might remember Kylie from Monday Screencaps where I asked you guys if Kylie's Game 2 anthem performance in Milwaukee was the best anthem since Whitney Houston at the Super Bowl.
🔮 The report goes on to state that Hayes told the family that their son would no longer be allowed in the league based on their behavior during the "disturbance" and they'd receive a refund.
🔮 This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.
🔮 I miss the days in the SEC when you could give a $20 handshake to get into big college football games...not that I would've ever done that with my father Now we have guys like Blake Bible going to extremes to get into mid-season games with playoff implications.
🔮 A Philly gay sports bar will close its doors this weekend after members of the LGBTQIA+ community accused it of a cocktail of egregious behavior, including transphobia, misogyny and a slew of microaggressions.
🔮 Of course NASCAR, who would love for fans to move on and root for a modern driver as hard as they rooted for Dale, got in on the action.
🔮 There were moments where it really could have gone the other way, but I was really, really proud of the effort.
Also by Joe Kinsey
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 31 articles by Joe Kinsey →

Topics

Atlanta Dream Golden State Valkyries San Francisco WNBA the WNBA Finals

Subjects

WNBA ORG · 11× Alanis Morissette PERSON · 1× Atlanta Dream ORG · 1× Canadian NORP · 1× FOX ORG · 1× FOX News ORG · 1× Golden State Valkyries ORG · 1× Richard C. PERSON · 1× San Francisco GPE · 1× UNLV ORG · 1×

Narrative

Monday night in San Francisco, for the second consecutive game of the WNBA Finals, the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries stepped off the court before the national anthem and then immediately returned to the court after Canadian-born Alanis Morissette finished her performance.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-20
🔮 This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.

Claims (66 extracted, 2 hedged)

Monday night in San Francisco, for the second consecutive game of the WNBA Finals, the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries stepped off the court before the national anthem and then immediately returned to the court after Canadian-born Alanis Morissette finished her performance. asserted
Morissette → step → performance
This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. uncertain
page → contain → partners
If you sign up or place a wager, FOX News may be compensated. uncertain
News → sign → wager
This content was created by a team that works independently from the FOX newsroom. asserted
that → create → newsroom
The spineless league hasn't said a word despite the women continuing to break an anthem rulebook provision that requires them to attend the performance. asserted
that → say → performance
Now that we've reported, it's time for you guys to react and share your feelings on this drama that isn't going away. asserted
that → report → drama
Let's do this. asserted
's → let → this
OutKick readers weigh in on how the anthem situation should be handled: asserted
situation → weigh → ?
UNLV Doc has some deep thoughts to share: asserted
Doc → have → thoughts
WNBA types and political sycophants probably think they're rebels, and they are. asserted
they → think → ?
But they are rebelling against order and creation in favor of chaos, which is always the easy way to mindlessly effect change, and what the selfish have always done. asserted
selfish → rebel → what
Honorable rebels take a stand, work, and sacrifice, even against self-interest to bravely bring about something other than the chaos that naturally exists without applied effort to create something good. asserted
that → take → something
I'm looking forward to seeing such leaders emerge from the WNBA mob; I know they're in there somewhere. asserted
they → look → mob
• Richard C. sent in this great take: How about a double disqualification and no champion recognized this year. asserted
C. → send → take
• Carmen has hit a breaking point: I love Daily Outkick and I hate the WNBA and everyday it's just funny to read and move on. asserted
it → hit → WNBA
The WNBA has failed women. asserted
WNBA → fail → women
As a female coach, I do my best to build strong, confident, capable, athletes who happen to be females. asserted
who → do → athletes
They are held to a standard that doesn't include entitlement, excuses, or any agenda other than TEAM. asserted
that → hold → TEAM
The WNBA is about anything but sport, and that is inexcusable for so many young women pursuing professional sports. asserted
that → pursue → sports
It's embarrassing that this is women's professional basketball when so few hold themselves to that level. asserted
few → hold → level
It's a soap opera that deserves zero attention. asserted
that → deserve → attention
As an organization that is supposed to promote the best in women's sport, it's become laughable. asserted
it → suppose → sport
It's a joke that has a played out punchline. asserted
that → have → punchline
You have failed those you are supposed to be a trailblazer for. asserted
you → fail → those
When athletic performance is secondary to everything else, you have failed as a league. asserted
you → fail → league
• Pops makes a good point: The WNBA proves once again they are a political activist organization not a women’s basketball organization. asserted
they → make → point
They decide what rules they want to enforce and what rules they will not enforce. asserted
they → decide → rules
• Kenneth is fed up: Well I have an answer. asserted
I → feed → answer
If the WNBA had any balls (which they don’t) both teams would be banned from playing the game and all players suspended indefinitely. asserted
players → have → game
If you can’t attend and stand for the national anthem of the country that has given you everything then you have no business being here. asserted
you → attend → business
• Mark S. sends a message to WNBA executives: What a crock. asserted
S. → send → executives
Enough of the lesbian leaque and who wnba management listen to. asserted
management → listen → who
Mike Mc. says: The WNBA is a sideshow of awkward misfits playing a child's game poorly. asserted
WNBA → say → game
It's no surprise that they do dumb things, but it is surprising that any discerning "fan" pays attention to this collection of grumpy malcontents. asserted
fan → do → malcontents
On second thought, if you had any discernment, you wouldn't be a fan. asserted
you → have → discernment
Problem solved. asserted
Problem → solve → ?
• Joe B. wants the WNBA to take a hike: Remove the entire league from USA arenas. asserted
WNBA → want → arenas
Who needs these disrespectful ingrates playing here? asserted
Who → need → ingrates
• Don says enough is enough: Why are we continually putting up with the WNBA? asserted
we → say → WNBA
They have proven they are a league that continually cares only about themselves and no one or nothing else. asserted
that → prove → themselves
…and 26 more, not listed.
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