The WNBA will begin charter travel for all 12 of its teams this season “as soon as we logistically can get planes in places,” Commissioner Cathy Engelbert told sports editors at a league meeting Tuesday afternoon, confirming a report on X by USA TODAY sports columnist Christine Brennan.
This very significant change in the way the world’s best women’s basketball players will travel to games will end the league’s long-standing policy of mandated regular-season commercial flights for its players.
“We intend to fund a full-time charter for this season,” Engelbert said. “We’re going to as soon as we can get it up and running. Maybe it’s a couple weeks, maybe it’s a month … We are really excited for the prospects here.”
The WNBA’s decision comes as the league is seeing unprecedented growth, ticket sales and interest as the most recognizable rookie class in WNBA history, led by Caitlin Clark — arguably the best-known athlete in the nation — begins regular-season play May 14.
It also comes as Clark and the rest of the WNBA rookies had to take their first commercial flights as professional athletes for preseason games last weekend and be exposed to members of the public walking near them, approaching them and taking photos and videos of them, including in unsecured airport areas. All teams are traveling with security personnel this season.
“It was all right,” Angel Reese said of flying commercial to Minneapolis for last Friday’s game against the Minnesota Lynx.
Read full story at USA Today Sports.
