Dream and Valkyries skip national anthem again in WNBA Finals Game 2 despite rulebook requirement

Read the original at Fox News ↗
Cite

Zaksheske, D. (2026, October 20). Dream and Valkyries skip national anthem again in WNBA Finals Game 2 despite rulebook requirement. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/dream-valkyries-skip-national-anthem-wnba-finals-game-2-despite-rulebook-requirement

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

Fox News · collected 2026-10-20 · by Dan Zaksheske

Quick Summary

During Game 2 of the WNBA Finals in San Francisco, both the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries skipped the national anthem again, similar to their behavior during Game 1. This action contradicts the league’s rulebook which mandates players, coaches, and trainers to stand and line up respectfully. Despite OutKick’s inquiries and questions about potential disciplinary actions, neither team nor the WNBA has provided any response or clarification regarding these repeated absences.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-20, 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

In the second game of the WNBA Finals on Monday night in San Francisco, both the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries skipped the national anthem again as they did in Game 1. Despite a league rulebook requirement stating that players must "stand and line up in a dignified posture" during the performance, the teams left the court less than one minute before the anthem started and returned just seconds after it ended. OutKick had previously asked both teams about their absence during Game 1 but received no response. The WNBA's official rulebook mandates players' presence for the national anthem, yet there is no indication of disciplinary action taken or planned against either team following these incidents.

Written for “WNBA Anthem Controversy” on 2026-10-20, 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 92255 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-10-20

Story

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

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans right and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Dream and Valkyries leave court for national anthem, return seconds later at WNBA Finals different event · 95%
Fox News · 0.88 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 18 📰 publisher trust 67
“The articles describe different games (Game 1 and Game 2) of the WNBA Finals, though both involve the same teams' actions during the national anthem.”
Dream vs. Valkyries Game 2 prediction, odds: WNBA Finals picks, best bet for Monday different event · 85%
New York Post
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 22 📰 publisher trust 67
“While both articles refer to Game 2 of the WNBA Finals between Dream and Valkyries, Article A discusses game predictions and odds, whereas Article B focuses on the teams' absence during the national anthem.”
Grow up, WNBA — enough with the National Anthem boycott different event · 85%
New York Post
⚖️ Leans strongly right further right than this 🔴 10% hedged 1 of 10 📰 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.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 19 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
67/100
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 2026-10-20 · 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 · 4719 article(s) · 9 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 9 correction(s)
2026-10-16
Kash Patel demands MS NOW apologize after network's false report claiming FBI director visited Russia
2026-10-14
MS NOW issues correction after reporting Kash Patel 'landed in Russia' while he was actually in Virginia
2026-10-08
ELI STEELE: France's schools are burning. White guilt is helping fan the flames
2026-10-08
Maryland man accused of girl's fatal shooting released from prison days before
2026-10-08
Former corrections officer accused of killing wife, forcing kids to help
2026-10-03
Tennessee's state corrections chief resigns following failed execution of Christa Pike
2026-09-30
Repeat offender with lengthy rap sheet accused of gunning down Kentucky trooper during traffic stop
2026-09-23
Missouri mom who put newborn in oven instead of crib learns fate as murder charge dropped
2026-08-04
Pennsylvania school bus aide accused of sexually assaulting special needs teen

Who wrote this

Dan Zaksheske
41 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 We also asked the league to confirm whether both teams would be present Monday.
2026-10-20 · assertive framing · Dream and Valkyries skip national anthem again in WNBA Finals Game 2 despite rulebook requirement
🔮 This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.
2026-10-19 · assertive framing · NFL Week 6 Sunday takeaways: Giants have a new QB1, Bills keep rolling and Shane Steichen is on the hot seat
🔮 This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.
2026-10-19 · assertive framing · Rams have a legitimate gripe with NFL officials, but their 2-4 record is the bigger problem
🔮 This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.
2026-10-18 · assertive framing · Former NFL QB Sean Salisbury wants officials to face postgame questions just like players and coaches
🔮 This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.
2026-10-18 · assertive framing · Human vs. ChatGPT NFL Week 6 betting picks: AI goes all-in on totals after another weekly win
🔮 This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.
2026-10-18 · assertive framing · Gabby Williams delivers late as Valkyries shut down Angel Reese, Dream to win WNBA Finals opener
🔮 The statement said "the anthem does not represent freedom, justice and liberty for all Americans" and indicated that protests would continue in different forms.
2026-10-17 · assertive framing · Dream and Valkyries leave court for national anthem, return seconds later at WNBA Finals
🔮 The organization went from spending draft capital to make sure it got Reese to deciding it would rather have future picks than keep her.
2026-10-17 · assertive framing · Angel Reese is in the WNBA Finals, but her Chicago exit raises questions about her winning mentality
🔮 Yes, Lean In Girls, which the NBA and WNBA say they're "proud to support," includes guidance for working with participants who may be exploring their gender identity.
2026-10-15 · assertive framing · NBA and WNBA back Lean In Girls program that tells facilitators not to call participants 'girls'
🔮 This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.
2026-10-13 · assertive framing · WNBA gives Cheryl Reeve another award after playoff collapse and years of outspoken left-wing politics
Also by Dan Zaksheske
NFL Week 6 Sunday takeaways: Giants have a new QB1, Bills keep rolling and Shane Steichen is on the hot seat
2026-10-19 · Fox News
Rams have a legitimate gripe with NFL officials, but their 2-4 record is the bigger problem
2026-10-19 · Fox News
Former NFL QB Sean Salisbury wants officials to face postgame questions just like players and coaches
2026-10-18 · Fox News
Human vs. ChatGPT NFL Week 6 betting picks: AI goes all-in on totals after another weekly win
2026-10-18 · Fox News
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 41 articles by Dan Zaksheske →

Topics

Game 1 Game 2 OutKick SAN FRANCISCO WNBA

Subjects

OutKick ORG · 6× WNBA ORG · 5× Atlanta Dream ORG · 1× Dream ORG · 1× Golden State Valkyries ORG · 1× SAN FRANCISCO GPE · 1× Valkyries ORG · 1×

Narrative

The Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries were off the court for the national anthem before Game 2 of the WNBA Finals on Monday night, repeating their Game 1 absences despite a provision in the league’s own rulebook calling for players to stand and line up during the performance.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-20
🔮 We also asked the league to confirm whether both teams would be present Monday.
2026-10-20 · Fox News
Dream and Valkyries skip national anthem again in WNBA Finals Game 2 despite rulebook requirement · assertive framing

Claims (19 extracted, 0 hedged)

The Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries were off the court for the national anthem before Game 2 of the WNBA Finals on Monday night, repeating their Game 1 absences despite a provision in the league’s own rulebook calling for players to stand and line up during the performance. asserted
players → repeat → performance
Just like in Game 1, the teams left the floor less than one minute before the start of the anthem and returned mere seconds after the singer sang the final note. asserted
singer → leave → note
The repeat absence followed OutKick’s questions to both teams about why they were off the court Saturday and whether they planned to be present for Monday’s anthem. asserted
they → follow → anthem
Despite multiple requests to both teams, those questions had gone unanswered when OutKick published a follow-up Monday morning. asserted
OutKick → go → up
The WNBA’s rulebook includes an anthem provision asserted
rulebook → include → provision
The WNBA’s 2026 official rulebook says players, coaches and trainers are to "stand and line up in a dignified posture" along the sidelines or on the foul line during the national anthem. asserted
players → say → anthem
OutKick asked the league about its anthem requirements, whether any discipline was planned or under consideration over Game 1, and whether it had instructed or planned to instruct either team to be on the court for Game 2. asserted
it → ask → Game
We also asked the league to confirm whether both teams would be present Monday. asserted
teams → ask → league
The WNBA has not responded to multiple requests for comment. asserted
WNBA → respond → comment
Game 1 questions preceded another anthem absence asserted
questions → precede → absence
Before Saturday’s opener, both teams were warming up on the court before leaving just ahead of the anthem. asserted
teams → warm → anthem
They returned within seconds of the performance ending. asserted
performance → return → seconds
OutKick contacted the league, Dream and Valkyries that afternoon, then followed up with all three Sunday. asserted
OutKick → contact → three
The team inquiries also asked whether the WNBA had communicated any instructions or expectations about the anthem since Game 1. asserted
WNBA → ask → Game
Additionally, OutKick attended all five of Saturday’s pregame and postgame press conferences and raised a hand at each, but was never called on to ask the planned anthem questions. asserted
OutKick → attend → questions
OutKick also attended both coaches' press conferences prior to Game 2. asserted
OutKick → attend → Game
Again, we were not called upon to ask a question. asserted
we → call → question
The WNBA’s own rulebook calls for players to stand and line up for the anthem. asserted
players → call → anthem
And the league remains silent about the apparent violation of its own policy. asserted
league → remain → policy
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support
Terms · Privacy · beta v2.0.0
Articles to 20 Oct 2026