Naomi Osaka slams WNBA owners after New York Liberty fined $500,000 for charter flight use

Tennis star Naomi Osaka has slammed the WNBA team owners after New York Liberty were fined $500,000 (£375,000) for chartering flights for their players.

According to Sports Illustrated, New York Liberty violated the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement by repeatedly using charter flights last season.

Players used charter flights for five away matches in the second half of the season, and were also flown to Napa Valley over Labor Day Weekend.

In line with the current collective bargaining agreement, the use of charter flights is a competitive advantage since not all franchise owners are able to pay for this benefit.

As a result, New York Liberty were fined a league-record $500,000 fine, reduced from $1million (£751,000).

Oliver Weisberg, New York Liberty’s alternate governor, was also removed from the WNBA’s executive committee.

The league’s general counsel, Jamin Dershowitz, also threatened taking away “every draft pick you have ever seen”, suspending ownership, and even “termination of the franchise”.

In response to this, Weisberg argued that the WNBA should allow charter flights “in the spirit of improving working conditions for our female athletes.”

“The focus on objecting to better travel arrangements seems to go against the spirit of what the entire league is trying to achieve under the leadership of WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert,” he wrote.

“We cannot begin to 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 WNBA teams should be permitted to arrange travel that is consistent with the fact that they are professional