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The struggle was real for these WNBA players trying to get home after a game

Posted at 5:20 PM, Jun 25, 2019
and last updated 2019-06-25 19:20:07-04

WNBA players on the Indiana Fever planned to leave Seattle a few hours after their game ended.

But their flight scheduled for 10:30 p.m. was delayed an hour.

Then there were mechanical issues.

At almost 1 in the morning, the team finally boarded a new plane to Atlanta, where they would catch a flight to Indiana.

“let’s try this again…. boarding a new airplane.

12:50AM:”

Nope again.

According to Natalie Achonwa, who documented the team’s journey on Twitter, every flight was overbooked.

So, they took a bus and settled in for the eight-hour journey north.

“UPDATE: 8:44AM, breakfast of champions.

soooo we made it to Atlanta… but EVERY flight to Indy is already overbooked…. and we have a 18 person travel party.”

Despite bus issues just a couple hours into the ride, the team finally made it home, after a grand total of 22 hours travel time.

The next day was a home game against the Minnesota Lynx.

“What a mess. Nothing helps your muscles recover after a game like standing in airports!”

“This thread isn’t your typical ‘my travel day sucks.’ This is a professional women’s basketball team, who just played a game, who are stuck sleeping on the floor, not having proper food, and having to take an 8hr bus home instead of a flight.

BRUTAL”

CNN has reached out to the WNBA for comment.

Last August, the Las Vegas Aces forfeited a game — the first forfeit in WNBA history — after travel issues led to the team spending more than 25 hours in airports and airplanes.

Though the Aces arrived a few hours before tip-off, they said in statement that playing the scheduled game would put them at risk for injury.