INTERLEAGUE
Toronto 4, Philadelphia 3
Cincinnati 4, NY Yankees 3
Milwaukee 6, Minnesota 3
Baltimore 4, Chi Cubs 2
Seattle at Washington (Postponed)
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Cleveland 4, Chi White Sox 1
Chi White Sox 7, Cleveland 0
Tampa Bay 3, Boston 2
Detroit 7, Kansas City 5
Oakland 14, Texas 7
Houston 6, LA Angels 5
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Pittsburgh 3, Miami 2
Final Atlanta 4, N.Y. Mets 1
St. Louis 7, LA Dodgers 6
Colorado 5, San Diego 3
San Francisco 13, Arizona 0
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Seattle 83, Dallas 74
Las Vegas 107, New York 101
Chicago 90, Atlanta 75
Minnesota 118, Phoenix 107 (2OT)
Washington 94, Los Angeles 81
(DALLAS) — Former NFL player Marion Barber III died from a heat stroke in his suburban Dallas apartment amid a record-setting heat wave sweeping across Texas, according to the Collin County medical examiner’s office.
The 38-year-old’s death was ruled an accident, the medical examiner said Monday.
Barber, a former running back for the Dallas Cowboys, was found dead in his Frisco, Texas, apartment on June 1 after police were requested to conduct a welfare check on him, according to the Frisco Police Department.
The former Pro Bowl player’s death came at the start of a heat wave in the Dallas area and across Texas that has seen temperatures soar into triple digits, taxing the state’s electrical grid and prompting the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to issue a statewide appeal on Monday for people to conserve energy.
Records from the National Weather Service show that during the week Barber’s body was discovered, daily high temperatures in Frisco ranged from the high 80s to the low 90s.
A full autopsy report on Barber obtained by theFort Worth Star-Telegram shows that when police officers arrived at Barber’s rented apartment to check on him, the thermostat was set to 91 degrees with the heat set to “on.”
“Mr. Barber was known to exercise in sauna-like conditions,” the medical examiner wrote in the report, according to the Star-Telegram.
Frisco police said Barber’s family members had not heard from him for six days before the day his body was discovered.
Barber’s father, Marion Barber II, also a former NFL player, told the Star-Telegram his son’s body was badly decomposed when officers found him.
A police incident report, obtained by ABC affiliate station WFAA in Dallas, said police were contacted by an employee at Barber’s apartment complex on June 1, who expressed concern for Barber’s well-being.
The employee told police a neighbor submitted a service request on May 11 due to water leaking into their apartment from Barber’s unit, according to the incident report. The employee said he was unable to contact Barber on either May 12 or 13, and added that numerous phone calls and emails to Barber were not answered for two weeks. Police officers found an unopened letter the employee left on Barber’s door when they arrived at the apartment on June 1, according to the incident report.
Officers found Barber’s body in a bathroom shower with the water not running, according to the incident report.
Heat stroke occurs when the body can no longer control its temperature, causing a person’s body temperature to rise rapidly and its sweating mechanism to fail, making the body unable to cool down, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. During a heat stroke, a person’s body temperature can rise to 106 degrees in 10 to 15 minutes, according to the CDC.
Besides an extremely high body temperature, warning signs of heat stroke include a rapid pulse, throbbing headache, dizziness, nausea, confusion and red, hot and dry skin, according to the CDC.
Barber, a standout three-sport athlete at the University of Minnesota, was picked by the Dallas Cowboys in the fourth round of the 2005 NFL draft and played for the team for six seasons, earning a Pro-Bowl selection in 2007. Barber signed with the Chicago Bears in 2011 and played one season for the team before retiring in 2012.
“We are heartbroken by the tragic death of Marion Barber III. Marion was an old-school, hard-nosed football player who ran with the will to win every down,” the Cowboys said in the statement when Barber’s death was first announced. “He had a passion for the game and love for his coaches and teammates.”
A funeral for Barber was held on June 22 at the Huntington Bank Stadium on the campus of the University of Minnesota.
(NEW YORK) — Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic won Wimbledon on Sunday, beating Australian player Nick Kyrgios in the final in what will likely be Djokovic’s final Grand Slam appearance this year.
For a second consecutive year, Djokovic won’t be able to play in the U.S. Open in August due to his COVID-19 vaccination status.
“The only good news I can have is them removing the mandated green vaccine card…to enter the United States,” Djokovic said during a press conference on Sunday. “Or exemption.”
Djokovic, 35, is not vaccinated. He told the BBC in February that “based on all the information that I got, I decided not to take the vaccine.” At the post-match press conference on Sunday he reiterated that “I’m not planning to get vaccinated.”
The U.K., where Wimbledon takes place, allows travelers into the country without requiring proof of vaccination. France relaxed its entrance requirements in time to allow Djokovic to play in the French Open in May.
Djokovic was deported from Australia in January after his visa was revoked at the Melbourne airport, restored and then canceled a second time because he is unvaccinated.
His visa was ultimately revoked “on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so,” according to Australian authorities.
Although the U.S. Open and New York City, where the tournament will take place, allow visitors without proof of vaccination, Djokovic will not be able to play because of COVID requirements for international travelers set by the U.S. government. The U.S. does not allow people to visit without proof of COVID-19 vaccination.
American tennis player Tennys Sandgren, despite being unvaccinated, will be able to play in the U.S. Open because of this policy.
“Pretty shameful that the USTA won’t fight for an exemption for Novak,” he wrote in a tweet last month. “I can play but he can’t? Ridiculous.”
During the press interview on Sunday Djokovic stated that an exemption to play in the U.S. Open didn’t seem “realistically possible.”
“Though the U.S. Open does not have a vaccination mandate in place for players, we respect the U.S. government’s position regarding travel into the country for non-U.S. citizens,” a spokesperson for the U.S. Open told ABC News.
Mark Conrad, a professor of law and ethics at Fordham University who specializes in sports law and business, told ABC News he would be “very, very surprised if there were a change in policy, especially with the latest variants.”
“I don’t really think there’ll be a lot of sympathy,” he said. “If there’s an exemption for him, there will be a lot of people saying why should he get that exemption?”
“Does the government really care so much to go and stick his neck out for one tennis player, no matter how good he is?”
(WASHINGTON) — The Justice Department has opened a probe against the PGA Tour to see if the tour violated any antitrust laws in relation to their face-off with LIV Golf — a Saudi-backed golf league — a PGA Tour spokesperson confirmed to ABC News.
The PGA Tour says the probe was not unexpected, and they are confident they’ll be vindicated. They didn’t say what specifically the Justice Department was looking into.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report the probe, and the Justice Department is not commenting on the probe.
Financed by the government of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the LIV Golf league burst onto the scene last year as a potential rival to the PGA Tour, reportedly offering large sums of money to some of the PGA Tour’s top players while promising to shake up the world of golf with a new format and larger prize money for tournament winners.
The commissioner of the LIV Golf league is two-time major champion Greg Norman. The retired golfer has been outspoken about the PGA Tour format.
The PGA Tour has banned and fined golfers like Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau who joined the upstart golf league and are some of the biggest and most winningest players in the sport.
The probe is just the latest in the back-and-forth between the league backed by the Saudi government and the PGA Tour.
“We welcome good, healthy competition,” PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan told reporters in late June when asked about the league. “The LIV Saudi Golf League is not that. It’s an irrational threat, one not concerned with the return on investment or true growth of the game.”
In a February letter to Monahan, Norman, who has won two major championships, chided the commissioner saying PGA Tour lawyers must be “holding their breathe.”
“But when you try to bluff and intimidate players by bullying and threatening them, you are guilty of going too far, being unfair, and you are likely in violation of the law,” Norman wrote.
LIV Golf has not responded to requests for comment by ABC News.
This week, the Open Championship, one of the four major golf championships, gets underway at St. Andrew’s in Scotland.
In 1994, the Federal Trade Commission looked into “unfair methods of competition,” that the PGA Tour was allegedly carrying out, but they were found to have not violated any federal laws.
ABC News’ Alexander Mallin contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Cincinnati 10, Tampa Bay 5
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Baltimore 9, LA Angels 5
Chi White Sox 4, Detroit 2
Kansas City 5, Cleveland 1
Minnesota 6, Texas 5
Houston 6, Oakland 1
Seattle 6, Toronto 5
Boston 11, NY Yankees 6
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Miami 2, NY Mets 0
St. Louis 4, Philadelphia 3
Atlanta 4, Washington 3
Pittsburgh 8, Milwaukee 6
Colorado 3, Arizona 2
San Francisco 12, San Diego 0
LA Dodgers 11, Chi Cubs 9
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION ALL-STAR GAME
Team 134, Team 112
(WASHINGTON) — Cherelle Griner said the letter President Joe Biden wrote in response to her wife, WNBA star Brittney Griner, amid her detention in Russia brought both of them “so much joy.”
“I believe every word that she said to him, he understood and he sees her as a person,” Cherelle Griner said at a press conference in Chicago on Friday afternoon. “And he has not forgotten her, which was her biggest cry in her letter.”
Griner, who plays for the Phoenix Mercury, personally reached out to Biden in a handwritten letter that the White House received on Monday, urging the president to help her get out of Russia where she has been detained for more than four and a half months.
“As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey or any accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever,” Brittney Griner wrote to the president.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a tweet on Thursday that the U.S. officials who attended the second day of Griner’s trial in Russia on Thursday delivered Biden’s letter to Brittney Griner.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told ABC News on Thursday that the president was “deeply moved” by Griner’s letter, but wouldn’t say what the president wrote in his response.
“I’m grateful and I’m thankful that the administration that was the first one that BG ever voted for, took the time to see her as a person,” Cherelle Griner continued, “to see her in the midst of what she’s going through and to speak to me directly and let her know that they are exhausting all efforts to bring her home.”
Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was visiting Russia to play basketball in the off-season when she was detained at Sheremetyevo International Airport on Feb. 17 after being accused of having vape cartridges containing hashish oil, which is illegal in the country.
The U.S. government classified Griner’s case on May 3 as “wrongfully detained,” meaning the U.S. will more aggressively work to negotiate her release even as the legal case against her plays out, the State Department has said.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris called Cherelle Griner to discuss efforts to release the WNBA star, the White House said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The president called Cherelle to reassure her that he is working to secure Brittney’s release as soon as possible, as well as the release of Paul Whelan and other U.S. nationals who are wrongfully detained or held hostage in Russia and around the world,” the White House said in the statement.
Cherelle Griner was joined at the press conference by Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and president of the National Action Network and leaders from the WNBA, including Nneka Ogwumike, Los Angeles Sparks power forward and President of the WNBA Players Association and WNBA Players Association Executive Director Terri Jackson.
Sharpton called for Biden and Blinken to arrange a trip for faith leaders to see Griner in prison as part of a prayer visit.
“After speaking with her wife last week, I am deeply concerned for Brittney Griner’s physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing,” Sharpton said in a statement on Tuesday.
Cherelle Griner thanked Sharpton for his support and thanked the WNBA for honoring and supporting her wife throughout her detention, including compensating her salary and bringing attention to her case on and off the court.
“It has just been overwhelming for my entire family — the joy of knowing that BG’s footprint was so big — that even in her absence, you still can’t miss her,” Cherelle Griner said.
Along with advocates, leaders and players in both the WNBA and the NBA have called for Griner’s release and raised awareness about her case.
The WNBA, which kicked off its 2022 season on May 6, is honoring Griner with a floor decal bearing her initials and jersey number (42) on the sidelines of all 12 WNBA teams.
Brittney Griner’s detention was extended repeatedly, most recently through Dec. 20, which is the expected length of her trial. If convicted, Griner, 31, faces up to 10 years in prison and also has a right to an appeal.
Brittney Griner said she “would like to plead guilty” Thursday morning on drug charges in a Russian court, saying that the vape cartridges containing hashish oil were in her luggage unintentionally. She said that she had no “intention” of breaking Russian law, adding that she was is in a rush and did not mean to leave the cartridges in her bag.
Brittney Griner is expected to appear in court on July 14 for the third day of her trial.
Calls to free Brittney Griner escalated following the release of U.S. Marine veteran Trevor Reed last month, who was freed from a Russian prison as part of a prisoner exchange. Former Marine Paul Whelan has also been detained in Russia since 2019.
Reed’s family met with Biden after they protested outside the White House, but despite their outreach, Whelan’s family had not spoken directly with Biden until Friday. Whelan’s family voiced disappointment after Biden’s call with the Griner family, saying that they have not heard from the president and worry that Whelan would be forgotten.
Biden called Elizabeth Whelan, Paul Whelan’s sister, on Friday to reaffirm his commitment to bringing Paul Whelan home from Russia, according to a White House official.
“President Biden reaffirmed that he is committed to bringing Paul home as soon as possible, and the U.S. government will continue its efforts to secure the release of Paul as well as Brittney Griner and all other Americans who are held hostage or wrongfully detained around the world,” the White House official told ABC News. “The U.S. government will continue to be in regular contact with Paul’s family, and with the families of other Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad, to provide support and assistance and keep them updated on efforts to secure the release of their loved ones.”
Asked by ABC News how the White House can assure Whelan’s family that he is not forgotten, Jean-Pierre said the administration wants to “assure” the Whelan and Griner families that Biden will use “every means that we have” to bring them home.
“Clearly, we cannot negotiate in public. That is not something that we’re going to do. But, we’re committed to making sure they all get home safely,” she said.
ABC News’ Justin Gomez, Cindy Smith, Tanya Stukalova, Kendall Ross, Shannon Crawford and Ben Gittleson contributed to this report.
(UVALDE, Texas) — In the wake of the horrific shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, the Houston Astros and the Astro Foundation visited the city Friday to host a series of events.
“Baseball has healed me in my past — it’s healed so many people,” Astros manager Dusty Baker told ABC affiliate KTRK-TV prior to his team’s game Thursday against the Royals.
“Hopefully, we can bring some enjoyment in their lives. I can’t imagine. You can say you know how they feel, but you don’t. I just pray to God that life can go on and they can heal — and I’m glad the Astros are a part of that,” Baker added.
Youth players, coaches and organization members of the Astros began their visit with Uvalde community members at 11 a.m., almost two months since 19 children and two adults were killed at the school.
From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the organization offered ice cream, promotions, giveaways and other activities, while at Memorial park a Play Ball baseball event was run by Astros Youth Academy players and staff. There were also give-away prizes and lunch provided by Whataburger for those who attended the game.
From noon to 1 p.m., the organization also led a visit to the Uvalde Memorial Hospital. The Astros’ mascot, Orbit, and cheerleaders, the Shooting Stars, visited and brought along giveaways and prizes for patients, doctors and nurses.
Jim Crane, owner of the Astros, was seen visiting the memorial site at Robb Elementary School alongside members of the Astros Foundation, youth players and cheerleaders.
He told ABC affiliate KTRK-TV he spent time with the families who lost someone in the shooting at a private brunch, and that the Astros plan to bring many of the family members to a game in Houston in August.
Staff from the Astro Foundation were seen handing out T-shirts, plastic baseball bats, Astro signage and baseball hats in a local Uvalde park.
(LAS VEGAS) — The Las Vegas Raiders welcomed Sandra Douglass Morgan, the first Black woman ever to serve as team president in NFL history, on Thursday.
“It is the honor of a lifetime to join the Raiders at one of the most defining times in the team’s history,” Morgan said in a Raiders press release on Thursday.
Morgan is currently an attorney for Covington and Burling LLP and serves on the board of directors for Allegiant Travel Company and Caesars Entertainment.
Her appointment pioneers a new path of diverse leadership in the NFL’s history, but she has long made strides in diversifying various bureaucracies in her home state of Nevada.
Prior to changing the game in NFL administration, she was previously Nevada’s first Black city attorney for the city of North Las Vegas and the first Black woman to chair the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
The Raiders brought Morgan onboard at a challenging time, shortly after former team president Dan Ventrelle was fired in May.
His controversial termination followed other resignations seen across the board from senior roles, including chief financial officer Ed Villanueva, who was with the team for 18 years, and chief operations and analytics officer Jeremy Aguero, who maintained his role for seven months.
“I am thrilled that Sandra has agreed to join the Raiders family,” Raiders owner Mark Davis said in the press release.
Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler joined Davis in welcoming Morgan to the team in a joint message via Twitter.
Morgan’s leadership marks a significant change for leadership within the Raiders administration.
Thursday’s historic appointment is now the first intersectional advance with previous strides standing in its shadow, like the hire of Amy Trask in 1997, the first female CEO of an NFL team back when the team was still based in Oakland, California.
“This team’s arrival in Las Vegas has created a new energy and opportunities we never dreamed possible. I look forward to taking this team’s integrity, spirit and commitment to excellence on the field into every facet of this organization,” Morgan said.
(MOSCOW) — WNBA star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty on Thursday morning to drug charges in a Russian court, saying that the vape cartridges containing hashish oil were in her luggage unintentionally.
“I would like to plead myself guilty,” Griner said when asked if she would like to give testimony. ABC News was present inside the courtroom during the hearing.
“I did not have any intention on breaking Russian law,” she said, adding that she was is in a rush and did not mean to leave the cartridges in her bag.
Griner is expected to appear in court on July 14 for the third day of her trial.
Griner’s trial, which is taking place in Khimki — a suburb of Moscow — began last Friday, more than four and a half months after Griner was detained.
Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was visiting Russia to play basketball in the off-season when she was detained at Sheremetyevo International Airport on Feb. 17 after being accused of having vape cartridges containing hashish oil, which is illegal in the country.
Griner’s detention was extended repeatedly, most recently through Dec. 20, which is the expected length of her trial. If convicted, Griner, 31, faces up to 10 years in prison and also has a right to an appeal.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris called Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, to discuss efforts to release the WNBA star, according to the White House.
“The president called Cherelle to reassure her that he is working to secure Brittney’s release as soon as possible, as well as the release of Paul Whelan and other U.S. nationals who are wrongfully detained or held hostage in Russia and around the world,” the White House said in a statement released Wednesday.
The call came months after Cherelle Griner publicly expressed interest in speaking with Biden about her wife’s case in a May interview with Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts.
“I just keep hearing that, you know, he has the power. She’s a political pawn,” Cherelle Griner said in May. “So if they’re holding her because they want you to do something, then I want you to do it.”
The first witness at Griner’s trial last Friday was a customs officer who was at the airport when she was arrested. Meanwhile, two others failed to appear, so the trial was adjourned for the day.
Representatives of the U.S. Embassy, as well as two representatives from Russian and foreign media, were allowed into the courtroom.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began one week after Griner was detained. Some officials are concerned that Americans jailed in Russia could be used as leverage in the ongoing conflict.
The U.S. government classified Griner’s case on May 3 as “wrongfully detained,” meaning the U.S. will more aggressively work to negotiate her release even as the legal case against her plays out, the State Department has said.
Griner, who plays for the Phoenix Mercury, personally reached out to Biden in a handwritten letter that the White House received on Monday, urging the president to help her get out of Russia.
“As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey or any accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever,” Griner wrote to the president.
“It hurts thinking about how I usually celebrate [the Fourth of July] because freedom means something completely different to me this year,” she added.
Biden intends to send a letter to Griner in Russia in response to her message, and he read a draft of that letter to Cherelle Griner during their call, according to the White House.
ABC News’ Kendall Ross, Teddy Grant, Shannon Crawford and Ben Gittleson contributed to this report.
