The Aporia · Grow up, WNBA — enough with the National Anthem boycott

Grow up, WNBA — enough with the National Anthem boycott

Read the original at New York Post ↗

Cite

APA MLA Chicago

Post Editorial Board. (2026, October 19). Grow up, WNBA — enough with the National Anthem boycott. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/19/opinion/grow-up-wnba-enough-with-the-national-anthem-boycott/

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

Quick Summary

The article criticizes the WNBA for players and teams boycotting the playing of the National Anthem during Game 1 of the Finals, which the author sees as counterproductive to fan engagement. It mentions similar protests began in 2020 but have since subsided in other professional sports leagues. The piece also notes confrontations between fans over gender inclusivity issues and criticizes WNBA players for perceived political posturing that may alienate potential viewers.

Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-19, 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

Golden State Valkyries lead the Atlanta Dream 1-0 in their best-of-seven WNBA Finals after winning Game 1 by a score of 68-64. Gabby Williams scored 26 points, including crucial free throws late in the game. Allisha Gray returned for the Dream with 19 points but missed critical shots in the fourth quarter. Both teams skipped the National Anthem before the game, drawing criticism from some fans and media outlets who believe such actions are no longer relevant or appropriate. Valkyries fans also heckled supporters of an organization advocating against men participating in women's sports during Game 1. The WNBA is facing scrutiny for maintaining practices that may alienate potential new audiences despite efforts to broaden its appeal.

Written for “WNBA Finals Valkyries Vs Dream” on 2026-10-20, grounded in this article and the 11 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.

Championship series are supposed to bring fans together around great sportsmanship — but the WNBA Finals are instead turning into an embarrassing spectacle.

right criticizes players for political posturing
Players skipping out on the anthem dates back to 2020 and the height of the George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests, but that posturing has since faded across most professional sports.

right criticizes players for political activism
All this obsessive wokery follows the harassment of Caitlin Clark, a player who’s bringing huge numbers of new eyes to the league. Supporters claim “everyone watches women’s sports,” yet league knuckleheads are doing all they can to turn many fans off.

right criticizes players for political activism and claims it harms the sport
If the WNBA keeps treating its audience like political hostages, fans won’t just tune out — they’ll bolt for the exits.

right accuses league of forcing political views on fans

Reading Leans strongly right (beta estimate) Confidence high

Leaning: leans strongly right for article 92104 (high confidence, 4 verified quotes) · logged 2026-10-19

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans strongly right and hedges 10% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Valkryies, Dream head for locker room during national anthem ahead of WNBA Finals Game 1 thriller same event · 100%

New York Post

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 7% hedged 1 of 14 📰 publisher trust 67

“Both articles describe the identical incident where both teams left for their locker rooms during the national anthem before Game 1 of the WNBA Finals on October 18, 2026.”

Dream and Valkyries leave court for national anthem, return seconds later at WNBA Finals different event · 85%

Fox News

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 18 📰 publisher trust 67

“While both articles discuss teams leaving the court during the national anthem at Game 1 of the WNBA Finals, Article B seems to be referencing a different or subsequent protest related to the anthem, not the same specific occurrence described in Article A.”

Dream and Valkyries skip national anthem again in WNBA Finals Game 2 despite rulebook requirement different event · 85%

Fox News

⚖️ Leans right further left than this 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 19 📰 publisher trust 67

“While both articles discuss WNBA Finals team boycotts of the National Anthem, Article A refers to Game 1 on Sunday, while Article B specifically mentions Game 2 on Monday.”

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

10%

1 of 10 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

Leans strongly right

of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate

Publisher signals

67/100

New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Sports

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Who wrote this

Post Editorial Board

92 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction

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2026-10-19 · mixed framing · Fast Takes: Ugly turn on Ukraine, lefties promoting terror and other commentary

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Wire or desk byline, not an individual reporter.

Also by Post Editorial Board

Trump going for ‘Yalta 2’ with Putin and Xi would blow up the Republican Party

2026-10-20 · New York Post

Mamdani’s latest anti-ICE move not only abets criminals, it may BE criminal

2026-10-19 · New York Post

Stop pretending the French riots are anything but an attack on civilization

2026-10-19 · New York Post

Fast Takes: Ugly turn on Ukraine, lefties promoting terror and other commentary

2026-10-18 · New York Post

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 92 articles by Post Editorial Board →

Claims (10 extracted, 1 hedged)

Championship series are supposed to bring fans together around great sportsmanship — but the WNBA Finals are instead turning into an embarrassing spectacle. asserted

Finals → suppose → spectacle

In Sunday’s Game 1, both the Golden State Valkyries and the Atlanta Dream retreated to their locker rooms as the National Anthem played, returning only once it ended. asserted

it → retreat → rooms

Players skipping out on the anthem dates back to 2020 and the height of the George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protests, but that posturing has since faded across most professional sports. asserted

posturing → skip → sports

Heck, Angel Reese and Rhyne Howard managed to stand proudly on court for the anthem during last month’s FIBA World Cup Final. asserted

Reese → manage → Final

But the WNBA, despite its desire for broader success, seems determined to stay niche. asserted

WNBA → seem → success

The league’s base, too: Valkyries fans on Sunday pointedly heckled XX-XY Athletics founder and “no men in women’s sports” advocate Jennifer Sey and her companions over the logo on their shirts — even trying to get security to eject them. asserted

security → heckle → them

All this obsessive wokery follows the harassment of Caitlin Clark, a player who’s bringing huge numbers of new eyes to the league. asserted

who → follow → league

Supporters claim “everyone watches women’s sports,” yet league knuckleheads are doing all they can to turn many fans off. uncertain

they → claim → fans

If the WNBA keeps treating its audience like political hostages, fans won’t just tune out — they’ll bolt for the exits. asserted

they → keep → exits

Guess we’ll see if the Women’s National Basketball Association can actually manage to grow up. asserted

Association → guess → ?

Grow up, WNBA — enough with the National Anthem boycott

Quick Summary

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

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Claims (10 extracted, 1 hedged)