Brittney Griner called for the national anthem to be banned from WNBA games – and the league went along with it.
Six years later, her league got one more chance to show where it stands on America.
What one WNBA player said about celebrating America should end any remaining debate about who this league actually represents.
Brianna Turner Refused the USA 250 Patch at the WNBA All-Star Game
Las Vegas Aces forward Brianna Turner – serving as treasurer of the WNBA Players Association – went public the moment she heard the patches were coming for uniforms to celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary.
"No WNBA players would have been free 250 years ago," Turner posted on X. "The majority wouldn't even have their freedom 100 years ago."
She wasn't done.
"We are some of the most elite female athletes," Turner wrote in a follow-up post. "250 years ago, we would have been breeders or in the fields working all day."
Turner's comments triggered a league-wide "discussion," after which WNBA officials went silent on whether the patches would appear at all.
The league stonewalled questions for days, offering only this statement nine hours before tip-off of the WNBA All Star Game: "Like other major sports leagues, we are exploring how best to commemorate the country's 250th anniversary. Nothing has been finalized at this time."
Game day arrived. The patches were gone. No explanation was ever given.
This is the same Brianna Turner who played for Team USA at three international competitions – the 2012 FIBA Under-17 World Championship, the 2013 FIBA Under-19 World Championship, and the 2014 FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship.
She wore the American flag then. Apparently the 250th birthday of the country that gave her a career was too much to bear.
Every Major Pro Sport Wore the USA 250 Patch Except the WNBA
The NFL wore it at the Super Bowl, NBA players wore it throughout the Finals, and MLB showcased it at their All-Star Game. The NHL, MLS, NASCAR, UFC, and WWE all participated.
The WNBA wasn't even listed in the original January announcement – a joint release from the White House, Fanatics, and the participating leagues confirmed the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL. The WNBA was an afterthought. When the league later announced it planned to join, Turner and other players publicly killed the idea.
OutKick's Jon Root said what most Americans were thinking: "The WNBA disrespected America tonight by refusing to wear the USA 250 patch on their All-Star jerseys. They're the only major American sports league to refuse to wear the patches."
WNBPA President Nneka Ogwumike offered a different explanation at a press conference: "We also have individuals and communities that we represent, and we also understand our mission statement and what we stand for, especially from a union perspective."
Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve called it a "difficult balancing act" – the league represents people with different political views, she said, while pushing its activist agenda.
Wearing a patch that says "USA 250" is a political act now.
WNBA Players Called for Banning the National Anthem in 2020
Turner's contempt for the American flag is not a new WNBA habit.
In 2020, Turner herself joined Griner in calling for the WNBA to stop playing the national anthem entirely.
"I personally don't think it belongs in sports," Turner told reporters at the time. "When the national anthem deemed the national anthem, Black people didn't have rights at that point."
That same season, WNBA teams boycotted games in the league bubble and walked off courts before tip-off. Players showed up wearing shirts memorializing criminal suspects.
The WNBA has enjoyed six straight years of attendance and ratings growth – driven largely by Caitlin Clark, whose Team Spoon beat Team Coop 129-121 in Saturday's All-Star Game. A record 19,783 fans packed the United Center in Chicago to watch her.
Clark showed up, played hard, and packed the building. The players who refused a birthday patch for their own country collected the checks anyway.
Sources:
- Warner Todd Huston, "WNBA Declines to Wear 'USA 250' Patches During All-Star Game," Breitbart, July 26, 2026.
- Jon Root, "WNBPA Did Not Ask WNBA to Drop USA 250 All-Star Patch After Union Officer Publicly Objected," OutKick, July 26, 2026.
- "WNBA Players Call on League to Stop Playing National Anthem Before Games," Fox News, July 29, 2020.