The Los Angeles Sparks walked into Barclays Center expecting the usual basketball game. But even before the game tipped off against the New York Liberty, an unusual performance of the national anthem caught the attention of Kate Martin, Cameron Brink, and Dearica Hamby, and their confused reactions made it all even more amusing.
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In a clip shared by @BrickCenter on X on August 14, a video from a fan showed a floor view of the Sparks players all lined up while the anthem was whistled instead of sung. The post quickly caught the attention of fans online, who focused on the reactions of several players on the Sparks side.
Among the most noticeable was guard Kate Martin, who was seen smiling before steeling herself. Meanwhile, forward Cameron Brink looked amused while speaking to Dearica Hamby, and even seemed to imitate the whistle at one point. However, perhaps the most striking reaction was Erica Wheeler, whose wide-eyed expression showed just how unusual and unexpected a whistling performance was.
The performance itself was done by Chris Ullman, a Whistling Hall of Famer as well as the four-time international whistling champion. Though the pre-game celebration was amusing, the game itself was quite controversial, with several players receiving fines.
Ariel Atkins was called for a technical foul in the second quarter for arguing with a ref, while Nneka Ogwumike received a tech for hitting Liberty guard Marine Johannes near her neck. This marked the first such foul for either of them this season, and they were fined $500 each.
Unfortunately for the Sparks, the game was also a loss, but the team nearly pulled off an incredible comeback. After being down as much as 28 points, the team scored a 40-point fourth quarter, including a 26-4 run that saw 21 straight points. LA cut the deficit to just one point before the Liberty held on in the last seconds to win 85-81.
The team was led in scoring by Rae Burrell, who logged a monstrous 28 points with five made threes, but saw only two other teammates score in double digits.
It was an even worse time for Brink. After a productive night. She logged nine points, seven rebounds, and three blocks in just 19 minutes, but after drawing an offensive foul on the Liberty’s Breanna Stewart, Brink had to be helped off the floor and sent to the locker room. This was her second hard hit of the game, as she ran into teammate Rae Burrell earlier in the game, leading to a head collision.
So far, there’s no definitive update on whether she’s going to be able to play the team’s next game on August 15 against the young Washington Mystics squad, but if she can steer clear of the injury report, the Sparks will take that as a positive as they look to make a late-season playoff push.