Sparks star and WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike issued a statement Monday calling for an immediate resolution to the WNBA’s ongoing issues with arranging travel for its players.
On Sunday night, Ogwumike and the Sparks joined a host of other teams who have endured traveling woes this season following their road victory over the Mystics. The seven-time All-Star tweeted a video chronicling the debacle which resulted in half of the team sleeping in the airport overnight after the club’s flight to Los Angeles was canceled at 1 a.m. following several delays.
At a time when the risk of traveling still remains high amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Ogwumike noted that commercial travel has remained a “significant burden on our players and their bodies” amid these unprecedented times.
“It’s not just a basketball issue,” she explained, “it’s a serious health and safety concern that must be remedied.”
Ogwumike said she believes the term “competitive advantage” has become a “tired argument that has overstayed its welcome” and that it has impeded “transformational growth across our league.” Ogwumike noted that “new and emerging ownership groups” have shown “an ability and eagerness to invest the necessary resources to grow this league in the areas that require it most,” adding more fuel to the need to find resolutions concerning travel.
Ogwumike then outlined the approach the players’ union intends to implement regarding the issue going forward. The former MVP also called for the WNBA to permit teams to “invest in charter flights between games” for the duration of the WNBA playoffs, which begins Aug. 17., and “continuing with a common sense, full-season solution” starting next season; league commissioner Cathy Engelbert previously announced during the All-Star break teams will fly on charter planes during the 2022 WNBA Finals.
“We will continue to do whatever we can to alleviate obstacles faced by our members while traveling,” Ogwumike stated. “That includes having reasonable and flexible charter options immediately and genuinely considered. We reiterate our standing invitation to the league and team ownership to work together to identify a manageable solution to this problem whose origins are complex, but remedy simple.”
Ogwumike ended the statement by calling upon private and commercial airline companies to “recognize this bold opportunity to lead” and discuss possible solutions in the “spirit of collaboration.”
“American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, United, NetJets, WheelsUp, JetSuiteX, among others: We encourage you to meet us at the table and partner with WNBA players to help eliminate the toughest opponent they face each season: travel.” she concluded.
Ogwimike is one of several WNBA players to voice their displeasure with the league’s travel standards in recent months. In June, Mercury star Skylar Diggins-Smith tweeted that flying the same day “will never sit well” with her while Mystics star Natasha Cloud called out the league after entering health and safety protocols in May following the team’s only road game of the season.
