Players angered by WNBA's decision to reduce travel and cancel some flights.

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Englebert made a bold promise during the league's All-Star Game last month, announcing that teams would be able to travel via privately chartered flights on back-to-back games and throughout the playoffs.
However, after the announcement was made, Englebert issued a memo which called back the promise and offered teams the option to charter from their home market or directly to Game 1 of the following round.
Needless to say, this came as a blow to players like Dallas Wings forward Satou Sabally.
ESPN conducted a survey which revealed that 25% of the league's players wanted the league to improve its travel and security issues. League MVP A'ja Wilson hoped for a compromise, telling ESPN, “It should not take us all day to get to a destination.”
Wilson added, “It may not be that teams get their own private jet. But just working more with JSX and other chartering companies.”

Following the release of the memo, several players expressed their displeasure with the league's decision. Sabally said, “Don't promise things you can't accomplish. This is something that is preventable. We [WNBA players] have been preaching all season long. Shoutout to our union [WNBPA]. They've done an amazing job being so vocal. We can't rely on the league. Promises were made, and they aren't being fulfilled.”

Aces forward Alysha Clark voiced her concerns on Twitter/X, asking Englebert and the WNBA Players Association directly, “So Cathy Englebert u said charter would be for ‘full playoffs’ & now it's ‘Between rounds, teams will have the option to charter from the home market or directly to Game 1 the following round’ but not both?”

League officials anonymously told The Next that they were disappointed with the memo, saying, “Full playoffs should mean there are no commercial flights. No ‘fine print.’ I couldn’t believe it when I read the memo. A bunch of stipulations.”

The WNBA extended the league's season to 40 games, which only adds to the travel fatigue that some teams are facing. Such is the case with the Connecticut Sun, whose travel situation is precarious. Alyssa Thomas told ESPN, “Connecticut has the worst travel in all the league, being that we're an hour away from the airport. It's Hartford, and there's not too many flights from there, and if we want to fly direct, we have to travel two hours to Boston. So our travel schedule is brutal.”

The new memo is a stark contrast to the promise Englebert made only a month ago. Players are disappointed and frustrated, and with the playoffs quickly approaching, teams with difficult travel situations face a competitive disadvantage. The WNBA must take action to make sure that the players and teams are not put in such an unfavorable position.

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