WNBA Players Discover Revolutionary New Anthem Policy: Simply Leave

The WNBA Finals opened with the Atlanta Dream facing the Golden State Valkyries in a hard-fought game eventually won by Golden State, 68-64.

But as is often the case these days, what happened on the court took a back seat to what happened just before it.

Rather than stand on the court during the playing of the national anthem, players from both teams reportedly headed for the locker room. Then, in a display of timing that would impress NASA mission controllers, they returned to the floor almost immediately after the final notes of the “Star-Spangled Banner” ended.

In other words, they were absent for exactly the part of pregame festivities that involved the national anthem.

Quite a coincidence.

According to reports, both teams left moments before the anthem began and returned moments after it concluded. Apparently everyone involved simultaneously developed an urgent need to be somewhere else for approximately two minutes.

Naturally, the move raised questions because the WNBA rulebook addresses conduct during the national anthem.

The league’s rules state that players, coaches and trainers are to stand in a dignified posture along the sidelines or foul line during the playing of the anthem. However, the wording describes expected conduct if they are present, not an explicit requirement that they remain on the court while the anthem is played.

It’s a bit like having a sign that says “Please wipe your feet before entering” and deciding the easiest solution is never entering the building.

Technically, mission accomplished.

As of now, neither the WNBA nor either team has publicly explained the decision. That leaves fans to speculate whether it was a coordinated statement, a strange new pregame routine, or perhaps the most astonishing outbreak of perfectly synchronized locker-room visits in professional sports history.

Whatever the explanation, the players appear to have found a clever way around an awkward question. The rulebook says how to behave during the national anthem if you’re standing on the court.

It turns out there’s another option:

Don’t be standing on the court.