Air ball: WNBA players weren’t disqualified under a new national anthem rule

The WNBA season is winding down amid a spate of social media misinformation about athletes kneeling during the national anthem.

"BREAKING: WNBA referees disqualify two players under league’s new ‘no anthem kneeling’ rule," an Aug. 22 Facebook post said. 

This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

The WNBA didn’t immediately respond to PolitiFact’s questions about the post, but we found no evidence, such as credible news reports or public statements from the league, to corroborate the claim that two players had been disqualified. 

The Facebook post referenced a "full story in comments" and linked to an Aug. 21 blog post with a headline that matched the Facebook post and the following paragraph: "Iп a sigпificaпt move that has sparked widespread debate, WNBA referees disqυalified two players dυriпg a receпt game for violatiпg the leagυe’s пewly implemeпted ‘No Aпthem Kпeeliпg’ rυle. This coпtroversial regυlatioп, which was iпtrodυced to eпsυre υпiformity aпd respect dυriпg the пatioпal aпthem, has beeп met with both sυpport aпd criticism from faпs, players, aпd aпalysts alike."

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The blog post said the players’ identities hadn’t been disclosed but that "with the WNBA’s new rule in place, this act resulted in their immediate disqualification from the game."

The 2024 WNBA rulebook says that "players, coaches, and trainers are to stand and line up in a dignified posture along the sidelines or on the foul line during the playing of the National Anthem." But it doesn’t dictate a punishment for violating this rule, such as an "immediate disqualification from the game," as the blog post said. 

This also isn’t a new rule. It predates August 2016, when Colin Kaepernick, then a San Francisco 49ers quarterback, started sitting and then taking a knee during the anthem to protest the treatment of Black Americans after several unarmed Black men had been shot that summer. 

In August 2017, the league suspended its anthem protocol so that WNBA teams could lock arms with each other to show their support for victims of racially charged violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, The Associated Press reported.

The AP is among many news outlets to report on anthem protests and subsequent responses and reprimands. The disqualification of two WNBA players for kneeling during the anthem would draw news coverage but we found none.

We rate claims that WNBA referees recently disqualified two players over a new anthem rule False.