The WNBA issued a league-record $500,000 fine to the New York Liberty for the team’s use of charter flights during the second half of this past season, but according to Sports Illustrated, other possible penalties would have been much, much worse.
The use of charter flights is forbidden under the league’s CBA, as many owners are not able to afford such travel, and as a result, the team was initially fined $1 million for the infraction, with other penalties floated around that included “losing every draft pick you have ever seen” and even terminating the franchise completely.
The Liberty reportedly used charter flights for every game during the second half of the season, while the league is supposed to fly commercial, something that has caused issues in the past, like cross-country trips during the playoffs resulting in the league temporarily allowing charter flights. Last year, the Chicago Sky traveled home from a playoff game in Connecticut on three different commercial flights, but the league does not want a select few teams using charter flights while others are unable to.
The Liberty was hit with a league-high penalty, but the infractions were apparently enough to anger the league so much that it even brought up removing the team, one of the last standing from the original WNBA group, entirely.
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