Caitlin Clark, welcome to WNBA... and commercial flights. 'Will definitely be an adjustment.'
INDIANAPOLIS — Caitlin Clark is used to having a security detail by her side.
The basketball superstar has had a personal security guard ever since she started gaining nationwide attention in 2022. The Iowa women’s program as a whole amped up its security for her senior season, as well as her personal detail.
Even now, as a member of the Indiana Fever, she always has someone by her side.
“Steve follows me around, he’s over there in the corner,” Clark said, laughing, on the first day of Fever training camp. “Don’t mess with Steve.”
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Other than on the court, Clark has mainly been able to stay out of the public eye while in season — Iowa solely took charter flights to away games and tournaments, and no one other than players and staff were on that plane.
In the WNBA, that will change.
Unlike other major sports leagues like the NBA, NFL, NFL, and MLB, the WNBA relies on commercial flights to away games.
Flying commercial is part of the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement with the WNBPA. The two sides agreed to the CBA in 2020, and either party has the opportunity to opt out after the 2025 season. The WNBA’s current media rights deal with ESPN and ABC will also end after the 2025 season.
“It will definitely be an adjustment, but, you know, it is what it is,” Clark said Wednesday. “I think the CBA is up for renegotiation after the season, we can opt out of it, and certainly the new media rights deal will have a big impact on that too. So, at this point of my career, and across the WNBA, it is what it is. I'm sure certainly everybody would say they would love to be flying charter all the time. It would definitely help a lot of problems, but I think the Fever organization has done a really good job of getting out ahead of things; there's gonna be a lot of security traveling with us.”
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert has consistently said the league does not have enough money for every team to fly charter, which would cost about $25 million per season, according to ESPN.
Teams are not able to fund charter flights themselves, either, because the league sees it as a competitive advantage. The WNBA fined the New York Liberty $500,000 in 2022 because the team’s owner, Joe Tsai, bought charter flights for the team for the second half of the 2021 season.
The WNBA has had minimal expansion on charter flights in the past few seasons — teams will fly charter for all playoff series, as well as back-to-backs and the Commissioner's Cup Championship Game. The Fever only have one back-to-back with the Los Angeles Sparks on May 24 and Las Vegas Aces on May 25.
“It’s not like we're the odd man out here,” Clark said. “Everybody has to navigate it. And I think it's gonna, you know, cause some problems, maybe, because the popularity of our league is continuing to grow. Having to navigate travel with that, but at the same time, as you know, that's a positive thing; you want people to be excited about our game. So, hopefully it changes in the near future, but for now, it's just what it is.”
The Fever can’t do anything about the commercial flights — that’s a league-wide issue that will need to be resolved through the collective bargaining agreement. But the growing fame of Clark and her teammates, including 2023 No. 1 pick Aliyah Boston, 2022 No. 2 pick NaLyssa Smith, and 2018 No. 2 pick Kelsey Mitchell, has spurred Pacers Sports and Entertainment to amp up its security detail.
“We've talked a lot about security, and how they're going to be traveling with us this year, and just being sure there's someone with us,” Boston said. “I think that's great just because of how we travel, and how many people recognize us and the energy that's around the WNBA, even just just thinking about the Fever itself. I think it's really great progress.”
The Fever will also have increased security on the court because of Clark’s prior experiences with opposing fans.
Following an Ohio State upset win over Iowa in Columbus in January, Clark was knocked to the ground by a fan who was storming the court. She had the wind knocked out of her, and was immediately helped off the court by her teammates and security guards.
While Clark didn’t have any lasting injuries from the hit, the Fever will exhaust every resource to make sure that doesn’t happen again.
“We’re certainly aware of what took place at Iowa and when she traveled to away arenas, and certainly we’re aware of what happened at Ohio State,” general manager Lin Dunn said. “We’re going to take all the precautions we can to not only make sure she’s safe, but that I’m safe, that we’re all safe, that all the players are prepared to be safe and secure.”
Commercial flights are more than a slight security hazard — they can also be unpredictable.
It’s a big change for rookies coming from their college programs. But for now, they’ll have to deal with it.
“I feel bad for rookies, because when you're used to something, you’re like, ‘Are you joking? Are you serious?’” said Mitchell, a seven-year WNBA veteran. “It's important to have that experience as a WNBA player, because not a lot of people can recognize and understand what we do from a day-to-day basis, especially when you travel day-in and day-out to go play other great teams and what you have to do to get there. It’ll be eye-opening, it’ll be funny in a way, but we’ll be supportive along the way for sure.”
These flights don’t usually conform to WNBA teams’ schedules, meaning they usually have to fly out a day before and fly back a day later to get there on time. There’s also the possibility of delays and cancellations, as well as connections to places across the country.
These flights mean players usually have less rest than they did during the college season. They can’t walk on to a flight directly after the game and stretch out in the seat or have a full row to themselves. The general discomfort and little leg room a commercial flight brings — especially for tall people — prevents them from resting up to the fullest, especially with a packed WNBA schedule.
Follow IndyStar Fever Insider Chloe Peterson on X at @chloepeterson67.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: With Caitlin Clark, Fever will add security, navigate commercial flights