It did not take long for WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert’s promise of chartered flights to create issues. Eight-year veteran Brittney Sykes called her out directly on Saturday to demand answers for the inconsistencies in what the players were told and reality.
What’s crazy is that this issue would not have existed even just a few months ago without Caitlin Clark and the attention that this year’s rookie class is bringing to the league!
Prior to this season, every single WNBA team flew commercial. They had to shlep it in and out of airports alongside people going on vacation or traveling to see family. The professional athletes sat alongside the average joe on airlines like Southwestern, Delta and Jet Blue.
That is no longer the case.
Rather, it won’t be the case in just a few days. Engelbert recently announced that beginning on May 21, all teams will be flying charter to games. A new era is on the horizon and it would not have happened this quickly without a viral video of Clark in the Dallas airport prior to a preseason game earlier this month.
Although the new charter system does not go into effect until Tuesday, Engelbert said that teams with a difficult travel schedule will have priority for chartered flights in the meantime. Except…
The WNBA might’ve missed one!
Sykes and the Mystic are supposed to fly commercial for their away game against the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday. Washington will make the trip on Monday, one day before the new charter system goes into effect for the entire league.
The team’s top scorer wonders why why they aren’t getting a charter.
Charter Flights are given to teams with long/complicated travel … before May 21st …
We leave May 20th for LA….. but we are not flying charter …
DC to LA 5+hr flight
Indy to Conn 1.5+ hr flightNo shade , just really interested for the reasoning 😊
— Brittney Sykes (@BrittBundlez) on X
The 30-year-old guard also tagged the WNBA’s official account and Engelbert in her post.
Skyes may or may not get a response to her inquiry, but the league did respond to similar comments from Breanna Stewart earlier this week. Either way, it is a fair question to which we all probably know the answer.
Priority is going to the biggest names…