The WNBA’s bizarre national anthem controversy shows how much the league needs Caitlin Clark

Caitlin Clark isn’t quite Tiger Woods’ equivalent in women’s basketball, but there’s a reason she’s been compared to the 15-time major champion.

It brought millions of new eyes to a league that had long struggled for mainstream attention. She is also a marketing heavyweight, with endorsement deals including Nike, Gatorade and State Farm. But like Tiger in his prime, perhaps the greatest measure of Clark’s star power is that when she’s away, so is the audience.

Nothing illustrates this phenomenon better than the WNBA national anthem controversy.

WNBA remains silent after finals, teams skip national anthem despite rule requiring players to stand and line up

Crystal Renee Hayslett performs the national anthem before Game 4 of the WNBA Finals at State Farm Arena. The Dream and Valkyries were off the field for the fourth consecutive final anthem. (Getty Images)

Throughout the year, players and coaches of the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries have run off the field before the start of the Star-Spangled Banner. Then, just after singing “The Home of the Brave,” they return to the track. Neither team has publicly explained why they follow this routine, nor what the players and coaches do during those 90 seconds or so. But the crazy thing about it all is that, until these WNBA Finals, no one seemed to notice.

If an NFL or NBA team had engaged in a similar practice during the regular season, it would constitute one of the biggest sports stories — or even one of the biggest news stories — in the country. Experts would regularly speak out on the issue, activists would mobilize, and a national debate on the issue would ensue.

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Caitlin Clark received just one first-place vote for WNBA MVP despite having a historic season, while 19 voters left the Indiana Fever star off their ballot entirely. (Getty Images)

But until now, it had barely generated a murmur. Do you think this would be the case if Fever left the field for the national anthem?

The answer, of course, is “absolutely not.” The actions of Clark and her teammates would be dissected every day. POTUS would likely comment, and some of those endorsement deals would be in jeopardy. But a WNBA game without Caitlin simply doesn’t matter to the majority of American sports fans. The scheduled start time for Game 6 reflects this.

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Golden State Valkyries star Gabby Williams and Atlanta Dream star Angel Reese were among the players who stayed off the court during the WNBA Finals during the national anthem. (Getty Images)

On Monday, it was announced that what could be the final WNBA game of the season would be played on a Thursday at 12:30 p.m. Eastern. The reasoning is that the Dream wanted a change of venue: moving the game from Gateway Center Arena (3,500 capacity) to State Farm Arena (17,000 capacity). The problem is that the Hawks are scheduled to play on the same day, meaning Game 6 will take place when most Americans are working or in school. Again, it’s hard to believe this would happen if Clark and Fever were involved.

This national anthem mystery is one of the most bizarre sports stories I’ve ever seen. That players and coaches left the field on several occasions without giving an explanation is quite strange. That it took this long for anyone to realize it might be even stranger.

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But that’s what happens when the league’s true needle maker isn’t on the field. Caitlin Clark made the WNBA impossible to ignore. Without it, apparently, it’s still remarkably easy.