Charter flights, Billionaires, & the WNBA
If you are a sports fan then you have probably heard of the charter flight debacle and the WNBA. Or as I like to call it, #FlightGate. For those of you not in the know, an article by HOWARD MEGDAL for Sports Illustrated recently came out. It detailed the background of the New York Liberty taking charter flights during the WNBA season, which is against the Collective Bargaining Agreement (“CBA”). The Liberty were fined $500,000 and the sports world went wild. The Liberty are owned by Joe and Clara Wu Tsai and in 2021, Joe took to Twitter to propose a constructive solution to the travel problem WNBA players face.
This article set off a much bigger wave of discussion centered around different ways of thinking about players. However, I am not writing this article to discuss that. Many have done it and done it well.
I am here, to discuss the CBA, how the CBA gets ratified and negotiated, along with what can be done in future for this issue.
On the WNBPA website, they have a page dedicated to the 2020 WNBA CBA. The current CBA runs through 2027.
"The WNBA and the WNBPA negotiate the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The WNBPA staff and a Negotiating Committee comprised of the Executive Committee and other WNBA players representing the entire spectrum of the league, negotiate with representatives from the WNBA on behalf of all players. Our goal is simple - to get the best deal possible for all players. A new collective bargaining agreement is negotiated approximately every four years. We welcome and encourage all players to attend as many bargaining sessions as possible. It is your union and you should participate.”
A few things to remember:
1. the WNBPA is a union that means they and the league must bargain in good faith on a CBA
2. There are legal consequences if either party does not bargain in good faith
3. All players of the WNBA vote on whether or not to approve the CBA
With that brief background out of the way, the WNBA CBA is available online for anyone to view. This is common in almost all professional sports. Some leagues do not provide this level of transparency and it causes problems which will not be addressed here.
The section of the CBA related to Air Travel is Article XI Player-Related Expenses, Section 4.
Section 4. Air Travel. All air travel provided by the Team (including, but not limited to, travel between games) will be, if available on the Team-chosen flights at the time of booking, premium economy (or similar enhanced coach fare). Teams are required to reimburse players for the application cost of obtaining Global Entry membership as part of the Trusted Travelers Program of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Remember, the CBA must be followed by players, owners, and the league. The CBA is negotiated by the Players’ Association and the League. There are certain situations that are more important to players or the league in one year that might not be as important in the next year and vice versa.
When this CBA was negotiated in 2020, perhaps air travel was less of a priority than it is now in light of the charter flights taken by the Liberty. Sometimes in a negotiation you have to give something less valuable in order to gain something more valuable for yourself. Sometimes you have to sacrifice short-term comfort for long-term success.
The more concerning part of this air travel situation, is the information that has come out in the aftermath. The league does not look great in this situation and the defensive stance they have taken makes them and the opposed owners look miserly.
“On Sept. 13, according to a source familiar with the call, the WNBA Board of Governors considered an unofficial proposal from the Liberty to make charter flights the default travel option for WNBA teams—the Liberty said they’d found a way to get it comped for everyone in the league for three years—but it lacked majority support,” as per Megdal’s article.
Since Megdal’s article went to press, it has been updated with this Editor’s Note:
Editors’ note, March. 1, 5:09 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to reflect the WNBA’s Tuesday statement about the New York Liberty’s unofficial proposal to make charter flights the default option for teams for three years.
All of this back and forth about something that many of these players experience in college basketball. Many female professionals athletes get better treatment in college than they do as professionals and charter flights are usually part of the package during their college careers. It is still lesser treatment than their male counterparts and there are articles and statistics to prove that, and it is still the case even in the 50th anniversary year of Title IX.
However, sports where women are playing face many more levels to their issues than their male counterparts. The WNBA players are actually at a much higher level than their family members in professional women’s hockey or even in professional women’s soccer.
This article started off by teaching the reader about the CBA, but this is about more than the charter flights. This article’s aim is to open your eyes to the progress that has been made in the world of sports where women are playing. Yes, we have a LONG way to go. But, the fact that W players are even talking about charter flights is a win. This conversation wasn’t necessarily at the forefront five years ago. But now, some of these women have owners who WANT to bring them all the luxuries of professional sports. To the owners who are worried “players will get used to charter flights”, they are already used to it.
The owners who get it, get it. The owners who don’t, don’t. But for the owners who don’t understand the players, be prepared for the day when the players send you packing. These W players have sent an owner packing before. The NWSL players have sent an owner packing before. 2022 is the year where women are totally fed up and have the resources and platforms to speak out and get things changed.
You have been put on notice. Act accordingly.