Friday’s massive flight cancelations have now affected one WNBA player.
Erica Wheeler of the Fever was supposed to compete in the WNBA Skills Challenge on Friday night in Phoenix but will miss the competition after her flight got canceled.
In a heartfelt video shared by the league, Wheeler said she was “hurt” over having to miss the contest after the flight the Delta flight from Atlanta to Arizona was delayed and eventually canceled.
“My feelings [are] hurt, my feelings hurt because I really wanted to be there,” Wheeler said with her luggage at the airport. “I felt like it was going to be a great experience.”
Her Indiana teammate, Kelsey Mitchell, will take her place in the contest.
Wheeler, who was not an All-Star but was set to compete in the skills contest at Footprint Center, did give a shoutout to a couple of Delta employees and Pacers CEO Mel Raines for trying to help her out.
“I am soooo hurt! But I do want to THANK @Delta employees Geraldine Bird and Pamela Palmer at ATL for helping me thru out the whole day!” she wrote on X. “Also Indiana Fever/Pacer CEO Mel Raines for calling all around the world to get me a charter flight but nothing was available!”
In the early morning hours of Friday, cybersecurity company CrowdStrike released an update for Microsoft computers, crashing many of them and leading to delays and cancelations of over 4,000 flights, which included some from Delta.
Without Wheeler, the skills challenge will feature the likes of Sophie Cunningham (Phoenix Mercury), Allisha Gray (Atlanta Dream), Brittney Griner (Phoenix Mercury) and Marina Mabrey (Connecticut Sun).
The competition will feature an obstacle course and challenge players in dribbling, passing and shooting.