Last week WNBA Commissioner Cathy Englebert announced that the league would finally be using chartered flights to transport its 12 teams. While it is a hugedeal, it also comes with some stipulations
One being teams won’t be offered chartered flights for every game. In that instance they’ll fly commercial or via charter bus, and that has reigning and two-time league MVP Breanna Stewart speaking out.
Stewart, who’s arguably the second-best player and one of the most recognizable faces in the league behind Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson, isn’t too fond of the chartered flight setup.
The former UConn Huskies legend decided to take to X, formerly known as Twitter, to voice her displeasure of how things are being done. With all the shots being taken at 2024 No. 1 overall pick Caitlin Clark, one has to wonder if this is in that same ballpark.
Stewart Sounds Off
As the Liberty prepared to face the Washington Mystics in their season opener on Tuesday which they won 85-80, Stewie had this to say:
“2 out of 5 teams traveling today are on WNBA charters — and that’s a win. It could be a bigger one if the W allowed teams that were not offered League charters to secure their own until a full 12 team solution is ready.
Trip #1 of the season —
Charter Bus”
Stewie is excited that the league has started using chartered flights for their players. That seemed to pick up serious steam after videos of the aforementioned Clark walking through a very crowded airport in Dallas prior to her preseason debut. Some will say Clark isn’t the sole reason for the chartered flights, and that’s probably true, but she’s the main reason.
Angel Reese Not Feeling Charter Disparities
Chicago Sky rookie star Angel Reese wasn’t feeling the charter arrangements either.
As the WNBA opening night approached, Reese and her teammates found themselves still relying on commercial flights. Reese expressed her frustration with the situation in a recent Instagram story, sharing her hope that the team’s reliance on commercial flights would soon come to an end.
“Just praying that this is one of the last commercial flights Chicago Sky has to fly,” Reese wrote, highlighting the difficulties and inconveniences of traveling as a WNBA player.
WNBA Needs To Quickly Figure Out A Plan
Hearing Stewart speak about it should put some pressure on league brass to expedite the process of finding enough planes to allow all 12 teams to enjoy chartered flights. That would likely help the product on the floor while eliminating a lot of the current security concerns they have with players flying and traveling via commercial.
Of course they’re going to make sure Clark, who’s quickly become the face of the league, is on one of those flights early in the process, but there are 143 other players who deserve the same treatment nightly.
Cailtin Clark Effect Lives Despite Average Performance In First WNBA Game
In her first WNBA game after being chartered to Connecticut, Clark was OK in a 92-71 blowout loss scoring 20 points and dishing out three assists, but she also had ten turnovers and was clearly affected by the speed of the game and intensity of the defenders. The game saw the Sun have its first season-opening sellout (8,910) since the Sun began playing at Mohegan Sun Arena in 2003.
More TSL Stories:
