debate over WNBA Commercial aviation is back in the spotlight this week after former women’s college basketball star Caitlin Clark visited Texas for the first time as a member of the Indiana Fever ahead of a preseason game against the Dallas Wings. ing.
A video shared on social media Thursday showed the WNBA No. 1 overall pick and his teammates arriving at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark speaks to the media after the WNBA basketball team practices in Indianapolis, Sunday, April 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
The immediate reaction from social media users was why the league doesn’t fly teams on charter flights. This is what the Iowa State program utilized during the period. Clark’s time as Hawkeye.
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“It’s definitely going to be an adjustment, but that’s the reality,” Clark told the media on Thursday about the issue.
“At this point in my career, and in the WNBA as a whole, that’s the way it is. I’m sure everyone would say they’d love to take a charter flight any time. That would definitely solve a lot of problems. But the Fever organization I think they’ve done a really good job of getting ahead of things. There’s going to be a lot of security personnel with them, and there’s going to be a specific plan for how they’re going to move through the airport and things like that.”
Clark, who became NCAA Division I’s all-time leading scorer, helped the NCAA achieve its highest viewership in history. women’s basketball, Nearly 19 million fans watched the title match.
Caitlin Clark attends the WNBA Draft held at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on April 15, 2024 in New York. (Cora Veltman/Sportico via Getty Images)
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The hope is that this will be reflected in the WNBA, but if it does, it could create safety issues at airports.
“It’s not that we’re strange people here. Everybody has to get along and I think that’s probably going to cause some problems, because the popularity of our league continues to grow. We need to be able to travel well,” Clark continued on Thursday.
“But at the same time, it’s a positive thing. We want people to be excited about our games. Hopefully things will change in the near future, but for now it’s the way it is. Everybody’s dealing with the same thing.” You can’t use that as an excuse. ”
No. 22 Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever speaks with reporters during Media Day activities at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on May 1, 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
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Fever general manager Lin Dunn told reporters Thursday that the team is taking safety measures, but did not provide further details.
“We certainly know what happened at Iowa State when she moved to the away arena, we certainly know what happened at Ohio State, and we Are we going to take all the precautions we can and make sure that she’s safe, but am I safe, are we all safe, are we prepared to make sure that all of our players are safe and secure?”
Last year, the WNBA spent $4 million on charter flights for the entire playoffs and back-to-back games during the regular season. Ahead of last month’s draft, commissioner Cathy Engelbert confirmed the league would do something similar this season.
“No one wants it (a charter) more for the players than me. We need to be in the right financial position,” Engelbert said. “Just a few years ago, we were just surviving. Now we’re going from surviving to thriving. We want to do it at the right time.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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