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Indiana Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark arriving at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on May 2 raised a concern about the WNBA as the teams fly commercial.
Unlike other major professional sports where the teams fly private, the WNBA generally doesn’t allow for it. Despite Clark’s rising popularity, she and her Fever teammates walked through the airport baggage claim as normal, at least based on video from WFAA’s Matt Howerton. Clark appeared to have light security with her.
“Caitlin Clark is hopefully going to force the charter flight issue in the WNBA the way [Phoenix Mercury center] Brittney Griner did. It’s about safety and player health,” former ESPN anchor Jemele Hill posted Thursday on X, formerly Twitter, regarding WFAA’s video.
“The WNBA only allows charter flights on back-to-backs during the regular season and in the postseason — even though some teams have expressed a willingness to provide charter flights for their players the whole season,” Hill added. “The [New York] Liberty were fined $500K for against league rules and providing charters for their players [in 2022].”
“It’s weird prohibiting charter flights was even in the WNBA at all. It seems each team should have been allowed to make their own decision about this from the jump,” Hill concluded.
The WNBA made one accommodation in April 2023 with the addition of charter planes during playoff time when back-to-back away games occur.
Caitlin Clark Weighs in on WNBA Travel
Clark, who only took charter flights with Iowa as a college basketball player, is quite aware of the issue. She recently weighed in on it via the Indianapolis Star.
“It’s not like we’re the odd man out here,” Clark said via the Star on May 1. “Everybody has to navigate it. And I think it’s gonna, you know, cause some problems, maybe, because the popularity of our league is continuing to grow.”
“Having to navigate travel with that, but at the same time, as you know, that’s a positive thing; you want people to be excited about our game. So, hopefully it changes in the near future, but for now, it’s just what it is,” Clark added.
Clark and the Fever tip off the preseason on May 3 against the Dallas Wings in Arlington, Texas.
Liberty’s Breanna Stewart Sounded Off on Air Travel Issue in 2023
Clark isn’t the first to say something about WNBA travel. Liberty forward Breanna Stewart got vocal about the commercial air travel last year after Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Greiner’s alleged airport incident in June 2023.
“I think that there needs to be extra precautionary measures taken,” Stewart told reporters in June 2023 via The New York Post. “I don’t think anyone is against BG having charter flights whenever she wants so that she can be herself and travel and be comfortable and be safe. Because that’s the last thing we want is what happened [Saturday].”
“If we have the owners who are willing to support it and do it, it’s for the health and safety, to not only make sure we get from city to city without being harassed like BG was in the airport, but also making sure we are able to perform our best,” Stewart added.
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