AP Source: Liberty fined $500,000 for chartering flights

By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Basketball Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Liberty were fined a WNBA record $500,000 for chartering flights to away games during the second half of the season last year and for other league rules violations, a person familiar with the fine told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no official announcement of the fine has been made. Liberty owners Joe and Clara Wu Tsai, who have been very vocal about trying to find better travel accommodations for WNBA teams, paid for the charters as well as for a trip to Napa Valley over Labor Day weekend. That benefit vastly exceeded the allowable compensation to players.