Storm, Liberty Players Head to Locker Rooms for Anthem Ahead of WNBA Opener

Prior to the WNBA season-opening game between the Seattle Storm and New York Liberty on Saturday, the players returned to their locker rooms during the playing of the national anthem:

Additionally, Liberty guard Layshia Clarendon dedicated the season to the late Breonna Taylor, and Storm star Breanna Stewart announced the teams would observe a 26-second moment of silence, which was symbolic of Taylor's age when she died:

Taylor was shot and killed by police in March when they entered her Louisville, Kentucky, apartment after receiving a warrant because police said an alleged drug dealer used the apartment to receive packages.

Many athletes have spoken out about wanting justice for Taylor, especially since the killing of 46-year-old Black man George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.

While no arrests have been made in the Taylor case, the officer responsible for killing Floyd by kneeling on his neck for nearly nine minutes—Derek Chauvin—was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

The other three officers on the scene—Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao—were also fired and charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

On July 17, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James tweeted, "Dear Breonna, I'm so sorry this is taking so long."

The killings of Taylor, Floyd and several other Black people at the hands of police led to widespread protests against racial inequality, social injustice and police brutality.

The WNBA, NBA and MLB all have "Black Lives Matter" represented on their courts or fields of play, and the leagues have been supportive of players' demonstrating or protesting against systemic racism.

The Storm-Liberty game is the first contest of the 2020 WNBA season, which was delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic. All games will take place inside a bubble at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Every team will play 22 regular-season games.

The Storm are one of the most successful franchises in WNBA history with three championships, while the Liberty could be the team of the future with rookie No. 1 overall pick Sabrina Ionescu.