The WNBA levied a $500,000 fine against the New York Liberty for their repeated use of charter flights over the back end of the season, an issue that has been at its boiling point for the past few years.
It's a league-record number that was reduced from $1 million and included the removal of Liberty executive Oliver Weisberg from the league's executive committee, according to a Sports Illustrated report. The use of charter flights is a competitive advantage since not all franchise owners are deep-pocketed enough to pay. It is a violation of the collective bargaining agreement.
The travel details during the 2021 All-Star break didn't add up for personnel in the WNBA front office. The weekend held in Las Vegas and featured Liberty guard Betnijah Laney in the game and guard Sami Whitcomb in the 3-point shooting contest. Sabrina Ionescu and Reshanda Gray were among the teammates in attendance.
After someone alerted the WNBA to the Liberty’s violations, possible remedies floated by the league’s general counsel, Jamin Dershowitz, ranged from losing “every draft pick you have ever seen” to suspending ownership, even “grounds for termination of the franchise,” according to a Sept. 21, 2021, communication between the league and the Liberty reviewed by SI.
The Liberty are one of the WNBA's eight founding franchises. They are one of three (Sparks, Mercury) still remaining as the league enters its 26th season in 2022. A fourth, the Utah Starzz, is currently the Las Vegas Aces.
WNBA teams fly commercial throughout the season, creating travel conditions that have been an issue for players, coaches and team owners over the years.
Liberty owner Joseph Tsai tweeted about it in October and said he was working with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert to find a charter sponsor so that every team could fly charter, without impacting owners' varying financial situations. According to Sports Illustrated, he had already presented an "unofficial" proposal on it to the Board of Governors.
On Sept. 13, according to a source familiar with the call, the WNBA Board of Governors considered an unofficial proposal from the Liberty to make charter flights the default travel option for WNBA teams—the Liberty said they’d found a way to get it comped for everyone in the league for three years—but it lacked majority support. Some owners worried that players would get used to it, so there’d be no going back, and others wondered whether players might just prefer a salary hike instead.
Every postseason there is a problem with cross-country travel arrangements that the league has occasionally stepped in to remedy by allowing charter flights.
In 2021, the Chicago Sky dispersed on three different commercial flights beginning at 3:30 a.m. from Connecticut to Chicago for Game 3 of the semifinal playoff series. Liz Cambage, the 6-foot-8 center who signed with the Sparks in free agency, has spoken openly about paying out of her own pocket for a better, larger seat.
At that point, Tsai had also already taken matters into his hands and was flying the Liberty team to games on charter flights. They reportedly used it for each road game of the second half of the season.
The personnel reported it to the league, resulting in a cease and desist from the league's general counsel, Jamin Dershowitz, per SI. Weisberg replied with a note on gender equity (via SI):
"The focus on objecting to better travel arrangements seems to go against the spirit of what the entire League is trying to achieve under the leadership of WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. We cannot begin to talk about gender equity until we solve some pressing issues that have put extra burdens on the health and well-being of WNBA players. In the spirit of improving working conditions for our female athletes, we are of the strong belief that WNBA teams should be permitted to arrange travel that is consistent with the fact that they are professional athletes.”
At that point, it was September and the WNBA reportedly did not want the off-court story to take over the on-court stories. The Liberty pushed back on the $1 million fine that the WNBA told SI was "floated informally but never formally presented" as punishment. Engelbert reportedly said on a Board of Governors call that she "cut a deal with Joe" for a reduced fine.
