WNBA's bizarre national anthem controversy shows just how much the league needs Caitlin Clark

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Cite

Calkins, M. (2026, October 27). WNBA's bizarre national anthem controversy shows just how much the league needs Caitlin Clark. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/wnba-bizarre-national-anthem-controversy-shows-how-much-league-needs-caitlin-clark

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

Fox News · collected 2026-10-27 · by Matt Calkins

Quick Summary

The article discusses a controversy in the WNBA where players and coaches from the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries leave the court during the national anthem but return shortly after without explanation. Unlike other leagues, this practice went unnoticed until the league's finals, highlighting the lack of mainstream attention the WNBA receives compared to more popular sports like NFL or NBA. The article argues that Caitlin Clark’s presence significantly boosts viewership and media coverage for the league, suggesting that her absence reduces public interest in such incidents.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-27, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Caitlin Clark's absence highlights the WNBA's struggle for mainstream attention, as her star power draws significant viewership. A recent controversy involving the national anthem at Game 6 of the season added another layer of scrutiny to the league. Players and coaches from the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries have been leaving the court before the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner, only returning after it ends, without providing an explanation for their actions. This behavior has sparked debate over whether such practices would receive similar attention in other major sports leagues like the NFL or NBA. The unusual routine around the anthem has garnered significant media coverage, underscoring the league's need for high-profile players and events to attract more public interest.

Written for “Wnba National Anthem Controversy” on 2026-10-28, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted verbatim and was checked against the article text before being stored, so you can find it in the original.
Reading Leans right (beta estimate) Confidence high 1 quote(s) discarded as not found in the article
Leaning: leans right for article 110438 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-10-27

Story

📰 Wnba National Anthem Controversy
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans right and hedges 15% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Players in WNBA Finals tuning out President Trump, other outside noise, say their focus on the games different event · 90%
Toronto Star
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 19 📰 publisher trust 64
“Article A discusses players' focus on the WNBA Finals and ignoring President Trump's criticism, while Article B discusses Caitlin Clark's impact on the league's popularity.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
27
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
15%
4 of 27 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
70/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-27 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

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Running correction rate · 10 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Matt Calkins
14 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.
2026-10-27 · assertive framing · WNBA's bizarre national anthem controversy shows just how much the league needs Caitlin Clark
🔮 Sousa hoped the group could avoid ejection because soccer has no official breaks in play.
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🔮 At the heart of the rally was Initiative 638 — a Nov. 3 ballot measure in Washington state that would enforce such separation in K-12 athletics.
2026-10-23 · assertive framing · Washington parents find their courage as girls walk off cross country course in protest of trans runner
🔮 She was the second-fastest female cross country runner on her team, and almost certainly would have advanced to regionals had she participated Wednesday.
2026-10-22 · assertive framing · Washington high school girl walks off starting line alone in protest of trans runner, ending her season
🔮 This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.
2026-10-17 · assertive framing · NBA Commissioner Adam Silver blindsides Sonics faithful by floating surprise expansion alternative
🔮 The issue at hand was Initiative 638, a Nov. 3 ballot measure in Washington that, if passed, would keep biological males out of K-12 sports.
2026-10-16 · assertive framing · WA schools chief dismisses girls' sports fairness concerns, says athletes' brains aren't fully developed
🔮 The people of Washington state haven't officially spoken yet, but new polling revealed what they might actually say.
2026-10-09 · mixed framing · New poll shows Washington state voters are ready to end boys competing in girls' sports
🔮 Now, it wouldn't be fair to say that any one of these campaigns sunk the swoosh's stock on their own.
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🔮 And if Bell was shamed by peers for his words at the time, it would have been justified.
2026-10-03 · assertive framing · Media sinks to new low by digging up tweets that got announcer fired by cowardly Blazers
🔮 A myriad of White fans have supported the WNBA since the league's inception, and they've backed Black players like Maya Moore, Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoopes with the same enthusiasm as they have White players like Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi, and Lauren Jackson.
2026-10-01 · assertive framing · Players and media hate Fever fans for one simple reason: They think they're conservative
Also by Matt Calkins
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2026-10-17 · Fox News
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 14 articles by Matt Calkins →

Topics

Fever Game 6 Gatorade Nike WNBA

Subjects

WNBA ORG · 4× Clark PERSON · 3× Caitlin Clark PERSON · 2× Fever ORG · 2× FOX News ORG · 1× Gatorade ORG · 1× Nike ORG · 1× State Farm ORG · 1× Tiger PERSON · 1× Tiger Woods PERSON · 1×

Narrative

If an NFL or NBA team had engaged in a similar practice during the regular season, it would be one of the biggest sports stories — or even news stories — in the country.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-27
🔮 This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.
2026-10-27 · Fox News
WNBA's bizarre national anthem controversy shows just how much the league needs Caitlin Clark · assertive framing

Claims (27 extracted, 4 hedged)

Caitlin Clark isn't quite the women's basketball equivalent of Tiger Woods, but there's a reason she's been compared to the 15-time major champion. asserted
she → be → champion
She brought millions of new eyeballs to a league that had long struggled for mainstream attention. asserted
that → bring → attention
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
Nothing illustrates that phenomenon better than the WNBA's national anthem controversy. asserted
Nothing → illustrate → controversy
All year long, players and coaches from the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries have been running off the court before the Star-Spangled Banner is played. asserted
Banner → run → court
Then, just after "the home of the brave" is sung, they return to the floor. asserted
they → sing → floor
Neither team has publicly explained why it follows this routine, nor have they said what the players and coaches do during those 90-some-odd seconds. asserted
players → explain → seconds
But the wildest part of all this is that, until these WNBA Finals — nobody seemed to notice. asserted
nobody → seem → Finals
If an NFL or NBA team had engaged in a similar practice during the regular season, it would be one of the biggest sports stories — or even news stories — in the country. asserted
it → engage → country
Pundits would be regularly weighing in on the matter, activists would be mobilizing, and a nationwide debate on the issue would ensue. asserted
debate → weigh → issue
But until now, it had barely even generated a whisper. asserted
it → generate → whisper
Do you think that would be the case if the Fever left the court for the anthem? asserted
Fever → think → anthem
The actions of Clark and her teammates would be dissected every day. asserted
actions → dissect → Clark
POTUS would probably comment, and some of those endorsement deals would be in jeopardy. asserted
some → comment → jeopardy
But a Caitlin-free WNBA game simply doesn't matter to the majority of American sports fans. asserted
game → matter → fans
The scheduled start time for Game 6 speaks to that. asserted
time → schedule → that
Monday, it was announced that what could be the final WNBA game of the season will be played at 12:30 p.m. Eastern time on a Thursday. uncertain
be → announce → Thursday
The reasoning is that the Dream wanted a venue change — moving the game from Gateway Center Arena (capacity 3,500) to State Farm Arena (17,000). asserted
Dream → want → Arena
The problem is that the Hawks are scheduled to play that same day, meaning Game 6 will occur when most Americans are working or in school. asserted
Americans → schedule → school
Again, it's hard to believe that happens if Clark and the Fever were involved. asserted
Clark → believe → ?
This national anthem mystery is one of the more bizarre sports stories I've ever seen. asserted
I → see → stories
That players and coaches have repeatedly left the court without offering an explanation is strange enough. asserted
left → leave → explanation
That it's taken this long for anyone to notice might be even stranger. uncertain
anyone → take → ?
But this is what happens when the league's true needle-mover isn't on the court. asserted
mover → happen → court
Caitlin Clark has made the WNBA impossible to ignore. asserted
WNBA → make → ?
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