Report: Liberty Fined Record $500K for Chartering Flights During 2021 WNBA Season

The New York Liberty were fined $500,000 by the league for chartering private flights for their players during the second half of the season.

The league originally planned to fine the team $1 million, but the total was reduced by an appeal. Liberty executive Oliver Weisberg was removed from the executive committee as part of the punishments.

The flights chartered by the team governors violated the league's collective bargaining agreement.

According to Megdal, the general counsel of the WNBA even floated penalties such as losing every draft pick, suspending the team governors and possibly even the franchise.

In the second half of the season, the Liberty was purchased by the Tsais.

The transportation problem was going to be solved by Joe Tsai in July.

Megdal reported that the Liberty pushed for an unofficial proposal to the Board of Governors to make charter flights the default way of traveling for the league.

It didn't get majority support.

Seattle Storm guard Sue Bird said in February that charter flights give you a little bit of validation. There are not many businesses that just charter flights. It would be an indicator of that for a lot of us. It would be an indicator of financial success.

The $500,000 fine the league imposed on the Liberty was not enough for some front offices. New York did not lose any draft picks, and there was no discussion of additional penalties if it continued to violate the CBA.

In September, Liberty alternate governor Oliver Weisberg wrote a response.

The focus on objecting to better travel arrangements seems to go against the spirit of what the entire League is trying to achieve. We can't talk about gender equity until we solve some pressing issues that have put extra burdens on the health and well-being of WNBA players. In the spirit of improving working conditions for our female athletes, we are of the strong belief that the league should be allowed to arrange travel that is consistent with the fact that they are professional athletes.

The New York Knicks did not charter a flight to their first-round playoff game against the Phoenix Mercury because of the proposed $1 million fine.

It ended up losing that game by a single point.