If you thought the WNBA learned its lesson and would respect the national anthem at Game 3 of the Finals, you were wrong. The Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries left the court before the anthem for the third straight game on Wednesday night in Atlanta. Both teams jogged off just before it started and returned seconds after it ended, even though league rules require players to stand and line up for it. The league still has not commented. At the same game, Enes Freedom bought a courtside ticket and was told he could not sit in the seat he purchased. State Farm Arena and the Dream directed him to a private suite, citing safety concerns after he contacted authorities. Freedom refused and said he wanted the seat he paid for. Security and police then blocked him from entering as a regular ticket holder. He was previously banned from Chicago’s arena after wearing a shirt defining a woman as an adult human female. The anthem absences and the seating restriction happened in the same building on the same night. Players can leave the floor for the national anthem with no explanation, while a former NBA player with a clear view on women’s sports gets steered away from the seat he bought. The league has not disciplined the teams and has not explained why Freedom’s ticket was not honored. This is the pattern. The WNBA prioritizes its narrative over the sport and over basic consistency for players and fans. It treats standing for the anthem as optional and treats certain ticket holders as optional too. Focus on basketball and respect the country that made the league possible. Otherwise the fans who already stopped watching have no reason to come back.

LeBron James decided to make a spectacle of himself during the national anthem before his Sixers debut against the Knicks on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. At least he was there, unlike the WNBA players who skipped the anthem entirely during their finals. But James still couldn’t stand at attention. Video shows him swinging his arms in practice golf swings and going through shooting motions while the anthem played. The national anthem is two minutes. Standing still and facing the flag isn’t a heavy lift. James is rich in money but short on respect for the country that made him. Countless American service members have given their lives so that this country still exists and so that someone like James can earn more than a billion dollars playing basketball in it. The least he can do is stand at attention for the anthem. Warm-up swings can wait until the song ends. Standing at attention is the minimum. He didn’t meet it. James knows the cameras are always watching his every move. Refusing basic respect for the anthem is a deliberate statement about how he feels about America. Shame on him.