WNBA Finals coaches struggled to explain why their teams continue to leave the court during the national anthem at the WNBA Finals when pressed on the matter.Throughout the Finals series, players from both the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries have stayed in the locker room during ‘The Star-Spangled Banner.’The controversial decision has been met with fan fury and even drew the ire of Donald Trump, who warned ‘they’ll destroy themselves before they get started.’Ahead of Game 4 of the series on Saturday night, both Dream head coach Karl Smesko and Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase were asked about the decision.Speaking to OutKick, Nakase said: ‘We’re two years in, that’s been part of our pregame. So that’s been our focus. We do our pregame the way we decided to do it. ‘Like I just mentioned, we are locked in focused on the details, learning from our losses, and focused on how we can get better and make sure we win Game 4.’ Ahead of Game 4 of the WNBA Finals, Dream head coach Karl Smesko and Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase were asked about the decision to leave the court for the national anthem Throughout the series, both sets of players have exited the court during the performances When pressed on who made the executive decision for the team to be off the court, she added: ‘I really don’t know. I understand your question, I’m not trying to not answer your question – it’s just part of our pre-game.’Meanwhile, when the matter was put to Dream head coach Smesko, he said: ‘We’re just kind of focused on the Finals and getting prepared to beat Golden State.’Smesko refused to comment further on the matter.The topic was also mentioned to Dream guard and USA international Rhyne Howard, who downplayed the discourse surrounding their refusal to be on the court. She said: ‘I mean, are we just talking about these three games or are we talking about the whole season? I don’t think I’ve been on the floor for the national anthem for any of my tenure in Atlanta. ‘If that’s what people are going to look to nitpick for, then so be it. But as far as competing for your team, when I go put on a USA jersey, I’m out on the court for the national anthem every time. There’s no doubt about it. ‘Yes, I love the country that I play for and I love what we have here. But I don’t think that’s what needs to be talked about.’According to the league’s official rulebook, the players are required to stand and line up during the national anthem. Players from the Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries left the court before the national anthem ahead of Game 3 of the WNBA Finals Donald Trump has claimed the WNBA is at risk of ‘destroying itself’ and urged fans to turn offHowever, throughout the series, the players have seemingly defied those rules. Most recently, the two teams were seen heading back toward the locker room shortly before Q Parker belted out The Star-Spangled Banner at Game 3 in Atlanta.Following that incident, Trump asked at a Republican rally in Iowa on Thursday night: ‘By the way, what’s going on with the Women’s NBA? What’s that all about?’Those in attendance booed as he continued: ‘You know, they’ll destroy themselves before they get started. Because they just started to do good.’The boos briefly turned to cheers as he referenced former Iowa college stand-out Caitlin Clark, now with the Indiana Fever, and her role in the league’s growth, stating: ‘And you have a player here who was very good, very helpful to that.’Trump then continued, suggesting the league should take warning from the backlash the NFL faced when Colin Kaepernick led a wave of anthem protests in 2016. ‘No, it’s a big deal going on,’ he added. ‘They leave the court when the national anthems play. What’s that all about? ‘You know, the NFL did that for a while and they stopped because people stopped watching the games. So I think you should do the same thing with women’s basketball.’