Breanna Stewart reacts animatedly to rumors of WNBA considering charter travel for female athletes

WNBA veteran Breanna Stewart had a hilarious reaction to the news that the league is planning to charter flights for teams as soon as possible. The news comes on the heels of the league having a ban in place that prevents teams from taking private flights. In the past, that has resulted in some disciplinary action on the league's part.

In 2022, the WNBA fined the New York Liberty for breaching the league's CBA by using private flights. The fine, which was handed to team owner Joe Tsai and his wife Clara, was worth $500,000 and sent a strong message to the rest of the league.

Now, with the league drawing more attention from fans given the rise of collegiate stars like Caitlin Clark, the WNBA is preparing to implement charter flights. As WNBA Commissioner Cathy Englebert indicated this week, the league is planning to announce the news as soon as they have things organized.

With the news potentially just days away, Breanna Stewart, who has long been an advocate for charter flights, took to social media to react to the news. The former MVP simply put an airplane emoji next to a question mark while tagging the WNBA.

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Looking at why the WNBA doesn't have chartered flights, and Breanna Stewart's past attempts to get a deal done

As NCAA fans are well aware, collegiate teams frequently travel using chartered flights. Given that Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes or Angel Reese and LSU were already taking chartered flights, the jump to commercial has raised eyebrows among fans.

The league added charter flights for the playoffs and back-to-back games for the regular season. Despite that and previous attempts by commissioner Cathy Englebert since taking over, charter travel wasn't the standard for WNBA teams.

As AP News reported last year, charter travel would cost about $25 million in total for a full season, which comes out to $2 million per team. Given that the WNBA isn't profitable yet, it's no wonder that they are trying to keep costs down.

Despite that, Breanna Stewart has been doing her part to help usher in an era of chartered travel. In January 2023 Breanna Stewart took to social media, indicating that she wants to be a part of the deal that helps make chartered travel the norm.

"I would love to be part of a deal that helps subsidize charter travel for the entire WNBA. I would contribute my NIL, posts + production hrs to ensure we all travel in a way that prioritizes player health + safety, which ultimately results in a better product."

With all eyes on the WNBA leading up to the start of the regular season as fans and players collectively wait for news, only time will tell how things play out.