In a recent revelation, the WNBA arranged a charter flight for Caitlin Clark and her Indiana Fever squad for their regular season opener against the Connecticut Sun. Meanwhile, New York Liberty athletes had to take a bus for their season opener against the Washington Mystics. This has led to fans and former athletes blaming the league for favoritism. In a conversation with Gilbert Arenas, WNBA legend Sheryl Swoopes took exception to the blatant disregard of the New York Liberty and called out the WNBA.
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She cited Brittney Griner’s example to prove her point. The Houston Comets legend recalled how the league didn’t ensure Griner’s safety and flew her in a commercial plane when she returned after serving a 10-month sentence in Russia. As a result, she got heckled by YouTuber Alex Stein on the Dallas Fort Worth International report.
Swoopes dug out the Griner case because the WNBA had argued that they wanted to protect Clark from the sea of fans who could pose a security threat. However, she didn’t buy this line of reasoning and argued that only one out of the 12 teams shouldn’t have the privilege to use charter planes,
“When all this was happening with Brittney in Russia, she had death threats, she had all that stuff coming at her, but she was still flying commercial going through the airport, it wasn’t that big a deal. Now the fans are filming Indiana walking through the airport, it’s like, ‘oh no, we can’t have that so we need a charter’ Listen, every team should have a charter.”
“When all the stuff happened with Brittney [Griner] in Russia…She was still flying commercial going through the airport…So now because fans are at the airport filming Indiana walking through the airport, it’s like “Oh no, we can’t have that!”
Sheryl Swoopes on the new full… https://t.co/zFhy2eTP9E pic.twitter.com/M6AAaJu6pr
— Gilbert Arenas (@GilsArenaShow) May 13, 2024
Then, the 4x WNBA champ pointed out how the league fined the New York Liberty after their owner arranged for a charter flight out of his pocket. The league had argued that it was unfair for Liberty to have their charter flight when other teams don’t have them.
Swoopes seems to have pointed out multi-layered hypocrisy by the WNBA. The Liberty superstar also touched upon the league’s double standards on the issue of flights.
Breanna Stewart urges WNBA to increase its scope of charter flights
Breanna Stewart argued that if the league can’t arrange a charter flight, it should let teams opt for the same until the WNBA comes up with a full-fledged plan for all teams. She alluded to last year’s example when her team got fined for setting up their charter flight.
She questioned why not all squads are included in the league charter flight’s plans and took a shot at them for relegating her to a bus,
“2 out of 5 WNBA teams traveling today are on WNBA charters – and that’s a win. It could be a bigger one if the W allowed teams who were not offered League charters to secure their own until a full 12 team solution is ready. @WNBA Trip #1 of the season – Charter Bus.”
2 out of 5 WNBA teams traveling today are on WNBA charters – and that’s a win. It could be a bigger one if the W allowed teams who were not offered League charters to secure their own until a full 12 team solution is ready. @WNBA
Trip #1 of the season – Charter Bus 🚍
— Stewie (@breannastewart) May 13, 2024
Both Swoopes and Stewart are on point with their assessments. League commissioner Cathy Engelbert had promised that all teams would hit the road via charter flights during the 2024 season. However, thus far, she hasn’t upheld that promise.
It is reminiscent of the league broadcasting Caitlin Clark’s Fever debut but not putting together a broadcast for Angel Reese’s Sky debut. Is the WNBA shooting itself in the foot?
