The latest round of athlete protests during the playing of the national anthem came Wednesday against the backdrop of recent fatal shootings of black men by the police in Tulsa, Okla., and Charlotte, N.C.

Before a win-or-go-home W.N.B.A. playoff game against the Phoenix Mercury in Indianapolis on Wednesday, every Indiana Fever player knelt and linked arms as the national anthem played.

They were joined by two Mercury players, Mistie Bass and Kelsey Bone. The other Mercury players remained standing.

Even given the high stakes of the game, Fever Coach Stephanie White told her players that she had been proud to see what she characterized as an important gesture.