The New York Liberty dropped their second straight game on Sunday in their UNITY Day game against the Connecticut Sun. After the ESPY’s and significant travel woes the Liberty lost 71-54 to Connecticut. For the second straight game, the Liberty stars struggled offensively. Sabrina Ionescu, Betnijah Laney, and Sami Whitcomb who usually combine for over 40 Liberty points combined for only 8 points on Sunday.
The low scoring output from New York’s stars resulted in their lowest point total on the season, 54. Shooting a meager 30 percent from the field their lowest on the season. But after their travel nightmare, how could anyone blame them for poor shooting. However, this nightmare happened twice in one week.
After Tropical Storm Elsa swept through New York City flooding subway stations in a horrific manner, the Liberty were stuck at the airport for over 5 hours. Their flight was canceled and ultimately the team had to return home. Further delaying their trip to Indiana to face the Fever. They arrived to Indiana on game day less than 9 hours before tip-off. New York lost that game, struggling to shoot over 40% from the field. They also turned the ball over 20 times in the game in a 21-point loss.
The Travel Saga
However, the nightmare continued. After being unable to book a flight to New York until Sunday, the Liberty had an ETA less than six hours before tip-off. Liberty guard Jazmine Jones took to Twitter to vent her frustration.
Finally, the Liberty were able to board the plane New York bound for their home game against the Sun.
Twitter quickly noticed the fact that their flight wasn’t chartered. The WNBA actually does not permit chartered flights for its teams. In fact teams are limited to “premium Economy class status (such as Comfort/Economy Plus) for all players for regular-season air travel.” This rule is listed under the collective bargaining agreement to keep a “level playing field.”
Liberty owner Joe Tsai also took to Twitter stating that he will be making a change.
He went on to say. “Getting your team to an away game and back comfortably, safely, and on time is a basic business necessity. It’s the right thing every owner should do.” While Tsai did not say how he would go about making this change, he did enough to earn the trust of his team. Liberty players Sabrina Ionescu, Reshanda Gray, and Michaela Onyenwere tweeted their support:
UNITY Day Game
Despite the nightmare travel and their second-straight loss there was a positive on the night. The Liberty hosted their fifth annual UNITY Day game. This year’s UNITY Day programming will focus on the health disparities and inequities faced by women of color as a direct result of structural racism. According to the CDC, Black, American Indian, and Alaska Native (AI/AN) women are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women.
The UNITY Day game was presented by partner Empire BlueCross BlueShield. As part of their partnership there was a postgame panel discussion focused on addressing health disparities faced by Black women. As well as mammogram signups and an Empire van will be located on Barclays Center’s Plaza for community members and fans to sign up for free screenings and health information.
The Liberty’s UNITY social justice platform was initiated by players in 2016 in response to the killings of unarmed Black men and women such as Sandra Bland, Philando Castile, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Alton Sterling, and countless others. UNITY aims to ignite activism, educate fans, mobilize the local community, empower players, and amplify marginalized voices through key partnerships, social media activations and events.
