Source -- New York Liberty fined $500,000 for chartering flights, other violations

The New York Liberty were fined $500,000 for chartering flights to away games during the second half of the WNBA season and for other violations of league rules, including an unsanctioned team trip to Napa, California, a source confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday.

The flights were bought by team owners Joe Tsai, co-founder of the Chinese tech company Alibaba Group, and his wife, Clara, who purchased the Liberty and NBA's Brooklyn Nets in 2019.

The news was first reported by Sports Illustrated.

Tsai has publicly campaigned for better travel accommodations for WNBA players, tweeting in October that he was working with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert and airlines to find a charter sponsor.

Chartering typically isn't allowed in the WNBA out of fear it would create a competitive advantage for teams whose owners can afford bankrolling such costly arrangements. Engelbert told media as recently as last month that, while she supports the idea of teams chartering, the league needs to experience more financial growth to be able to cover those expenses.

While Tsai has worked to find a solution for all franchises, last season the WNBA discovered he was secretly chartering flights for the Liberty. At the time, Liberty players openly posted on social media about the team's Napa trip over Labor Day weekend. Sports Illustrated also reported that the WNBA Board of Governors rejected an «unofficial proposal,» spearheaded by the Liberty, in which the league would get comped for three years of chartered flights.

A WNBA spokesman disputed Tuesday that anything concrete had been presented.

«At no point was there a New York Liberty proposal for the WNBA Board of Governors to consider offering three years worth of charter flights for WNBA teams,» a