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Los Angeles Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike revealed on Twitter in the early hours of Monday morning that half of the team was forced to sleep at the airport after their flight out of Washington, D.C. was cancelled and there were not enough hotel rooms available for the entire traveling party. 

Here are the comments from Ogwumike, the president of the WNBA Players Association, in full:

"We are roaming the airport. First time in my 11 seasons that I've ever had to sleep in the airport. Based on travel, it was only a matter of time. Half of us are sleeping at the airport, half of us are at a hotel -- there weren't enough rooms after our flight got delayed, delayed, delayed and then canceled at 1 a.m. It is now 1:44 and we're here til 9 a.m."

Other players and coaches were also Tweeting about the situation. 

Perhaps most notably, assistant coach Latricia Trammell posted a picture of the chairs they were forced to sleep on. 

Travel has been a major topic of conversation around the league in recent years. In order to maintain competitive balance, all teams are required to fly commercial because some owners either cannot or will not pay for charter flights. Last season, the New York Liberty deliberately ignored that rule and flew charter for the second half of the season and were fined $500,000 -- the largest fine in league history. 

In an attempt to appease the players, the league has made concessions for certain playoff games and special events. Charter flights were cleared for the Commissioner's Cup championship game, and the league will pay for them for both teams during the Finals. 

Still, the league's current travel set up remains a source of consternation among players, and can lead to serious logistical issues, as the Sparks' current situation highlights. As is rightly pointed out time and again, players in other leagues such as the NBA don't have to deal with such worries. And while the financial aspect of paying for charter flights for every single game cannot be dismissed, having everyone fly commercial doesn't eliminate potential competitive balance discrepancies. 

The Sparks played in Washington, D.C. on Sunday evening, earning a victory in a must-win game, and are scheduled to play again Tuesday night in Los Angeles in what will be another crucial contest as they chase a playoff spot. They'll face the Connecticut Sun having lost much of their expected off day to travel. There's no way to quantify exactly how much that will impact their play on Tuesday, but there's no doubt it will have an impact.

With one week left in the season, there are five teams from seventh to 12th in the standings separated by just one game as they chase two playoff spots. One of those teams has now been put at a distinct disadvantage because of a travel problem.