It’s past time for that logic to be retired. Beyond finances, another explanation is commonly ushered in to explain why teams don’t fly private: The league is trying to maintain competitive balance. In April, the league announced modifications to its charter flights program - among them, private flights for all postseason games and charters for back-to-back contests - but the change is in place for this season only. Though some owners have loudly petitioned for such services, league commissioner Cathy Engelbert told ESPN in February that charter flights for all 12 clubs for an entire season could cost around $25 million, cautioning about the effort’s financial feasibility. The WNBA often cites the league’s financial state as an explanation for why teams don’t take private flights to all their games. The WNBA said it is working together with the Mercury and BG’s team to ensure Griner’s safety during her travel: Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner, was in an “inappropriate and unfortunate” situation at the Dallas Airport on Saturday. Brianna Turner, Griner’s teammate, recounted the incident Saturday on Twitter, saying her team “nervously huddled in a corner unsure how to move about.” Turner said a day later: “It was obviously very alarming, very startling, to have people waiting at your gate to just totally (disrupt) your day.” Griner and the Phoenix Mercury were traveling on a commercial airline from Dallas to Indiana, via Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, when a man, who the WNBA said in a statement is a “social media figure and provocateur,” approached and shouted insults at Griner. An incident Saturday involving Brittney Griner has reignited these conversations. Two summers later, the topic of air travel remains at the forefront of WNBA discourse. As a result, they paid a price: $500,000 - a league-record fine for violating the collective bargaining agreement. During the second half of the 2021 WNBA season, the New York Liberty repeatedly traveled on charter planes.
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