By Teresa M. Walker, Associated PressFILE - Players and staff of the New York Liberty WNBA basketball team wait to board buses at Harry Reid International Airport, Wednesday, June 28, 2023, in Las Vegas. The wait for full-time charter flights for WNBA teams finally is over with commissioner Cathy Engelbert announcing the league’s plans to start the program this season, Tuesday, May 7, 2024.
That means no more long security lines, bodyguards in public spaces, cramped legroom or layovers for the professional athletes who have been lobbying for better travel long before Caitlin Clark’s celebrity brought newfound interest to the league.
“We’ve had moments in the league,” Reeve said, calling the current momentum a tsunami. “But this is clearly a movement. And if you think it’s not, you’re going to get left behind.” Flights have been an ongoing issue for the WNBA that only increased last year when the league began working with the Phoenix Mercury and Griner after the All-Star center’s 10-month detainment in Russia.That forced players like Breanna Stewart, the 6-foot-4 forward for the New York Liberty, to squeeze past fellow travelers on commercial flights to fit into her assigned window seat.