The father of Golden State Valkyries star Tiffany Hayes wasn't shy about blaming the WNBA for playing a potential championship-clinching game at 12:30 p.m. on a Thursday.
"I think it’s the league’s fault," Renard Hayes told OutKick outside State Farm Arena before Game 6 between his daughter’s Golden State Valkyries and the Atlanta Dream.
"It’s the league’s fault. And pretty much the Atlanta organization."
He wasn’t alone in questioning the arrangement. Fans outside the arena described taking time off work, pulling children out of school and traveling hours to attend a game originally scheduled for 8 p.m.
The WNBA moved Game 6 to the afternoon to accommodate a doubleheader at State Farm Arena, where the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks were scheduled to host the Cleveland Cavaliers that night. Golden State entered Thursday with a 3-2 series lead and a chance to win its first championship.
Hayes, who said he lives in Florida, could make the early start work, but he expressed concern for the people who couldn’t.
"It’s kind of a shame about how they couldn’t handle the situation better or couldn’t be more prepared," he said.
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For Golden State fans watching in California, the game’s start time was 9:30 a.m.
"Probably have to take a break off work, take the day off or whatever like that," Hayes said. "But for me, I’m good with it. I’m okay with it."
He pointed to Golden State’s experience relocating a playoff game to San Jose last season as an example of having an alternative ready. He also questioned whether the Dream’s roughly 3,500-seat regular home, Gateway Center Arena, could have accommodated the demand for a Finals game.
Moving to State Farm Arena created room for more fans, but moving the start time created another obstacle to getting them there.
"We came from four hours away, so we’re not too thrilled. But we’re here," one Dream fan told OutKick, adding that the child accompanying her was out of school for the game.
Another Atlanta fan said she had been able to get off work, but recognized that others wouldn’t have that flexibility.
"For all of the other Dream fans, it’s not ideal," she said. "We would have rather played at nighttime."
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Another fan declined to appear on camera, telling OutKick she had called out sick and didn’t want her boss to see her at the game.
A father attending with his wife and two children offered a clarification after his interview: "We’re responsible parents, we swear!"
He said the children had attended school for two hours before leaving and completed all their work.
Several fans questioned why the NBA’s regular-season game received the evening slot while the WNBA’s potential championship clincher was played during the workday.
"We should have been prime time," one Dream fan said.
The father who brought his family called the arrangement "kind of disrespectful to the Dream," pointing out that the Hawks were only beginning their season.
The Hawks agreed to move their game to 8 p.m. to accommodate the doubleheader. But fans who spoke with OutKick argued that the Finals should have received priority.
One Valkyries supporter said the women deserved more respect and should have gotten the prime-time slot. Still, he welcomed the opportunity to play in a much larger arena.
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"It’s awesome that it’s being played at State Farm Arena rather than a 3,500-seat arena," he said. "So with that being in mind, I think that’s a win regardless."
Not everyone objected to the early start.
One Dream fan said she was fine with it and encouraged people who couldn’t attend to support the team wherever they were. A Valkyries fan who had arrived from San Francisco at 6 a.m. dismissed the suggestion that she might be tired.
"No. We’re ready," she said.
The league announced the scheduling change Monday, three days before Game 6, with tickets going on sale that afternoon.
Commissioner Cathy Engelbert praised the sellout crowds at State Farm Arena for Games 3 and 4 and emphasized the opportunity to accommodate thousands more fans. The league also announced plans for a coordinated promotional push with its broadcast partners to build awareness of the new start time.
OutKick asked the WNBA why it chose the afternoon start, what alternatives it considered and whether it was concerned about the potential impact on viewership. The league has not responded.
USA Sports, which is airing the game on USA Network, acknowledged that the afternoon start wasn’t ideal for attracting a television audience.
"The daytime window isn’t perfect from a TV audience perspective, but the league had to make a really difficult decision taking a lot into account across multiple stakeholders," a USA Sports spokesperson told OutKick in a statement.
"What was important to us was to ultimately be a good partner and to be part of the solution here."
The fans outside State Farm Arena found ways to make Thursday work. Some took time off, and others brought children who otherwise would have been in school.
Hayes was happy to be there for his daughter, but that didn’t mean he thought the league had handled the situation well.