The WNBA has expanded its travel protocol to allow teams to use a public charter service called JSX for all games.
The move comes less than a week after Brittney Griner, the WNBA star who was freed from Russia late last year after being wrongfully detained, was harassed by a man described as a social media “provocateur” at a Dallas airport.
JSX says it operates out of private terminals making it possible for passengers to avoid lines and crowds at the airport.
Since JSX isn’t available in most WNBA cities, the league told teams that airline flights have to be regularly scheduled JSX routes and times and cannot be custom routes.
Previously, unlike in the NBA, WNBA teams were not permitted to use charter planes for travel.
The WNBA announced in April that the league would expand its charter flights program for all postseason games and select regular season games where teams have back-to-back games on the schedule.
The confrontation got so heated that the man was tackled and law enforcement was involved, according to the source.
In December, Griner was released in a prisoner swap involving Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout – nicknamed the “Merchant of Death” – after spending nearly 300 days in Russian custody.