(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Milwaukee 5, Tampa Bay 3
Atlanta 9, Boston 7
LA Dodgers 10, Minnesota 3
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Kansas City 4, Chi White Sox 2
Cleveland 5, Detroit 2
Baltimore 6, Toronto 5
Chi White Sox 3, Kansas City 2
Houston 7, Texas 5
LA Angels 5, Oakland 1
Seattle 1, NY Yankees 0
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Philadelphia 4, Miami 1
NY Mets 6, Cincinnati 2
Washington 6, Chi Cubs 5
Colorado 16, St. Louis 5
Arizona 6, Pittsburgh 4
San Diego 7, San Francisco 4
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Seattle 111, Chicago 100
Las Vegas 97, Atlanta 90
Connecticut 97, Los Angeles 71
(NEW YORK) — Serena Williams has announced her professional tennis career is drawing to a close, and that the US Open could be her final tournament.
In an essay published Tuesday on Vogue.com, the tennis legend opened up about her hopes to grow her family with husband Alexis Ohanian, and how she has wrestled with the choice between career and family.
“If I were a guy, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labor of expanding our family,” she said in the essay. “Maybe I’d be more of a Tom Brady if I had that opportunity. Don’t get me wrong: I love being a woman, and I loved every second of being pregnant with Olympia. …But I’m turning 41 this month, and something’s got to give.”
Williams achieved her last Grand Slam title at the 2017 Australian Open, while pregnant with her daughter Olympia, who turns 5 next month, according to ESPN.
Securing her first match win in 14 months on Monday, Williams is currently competing at the Canadian Open. She has suggested she will taper off her tournament play with the Western & Southern Open next week and the US Open later this month.
The 23-Grand Slam title winner says she doesn’t like the word “retirement” and prefers to think of this as an “evolution” away from tennis toward other projects that are important to her.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Sunday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Pittsburgh 8, Baltimore 1
St. Louis 12, NY Yankees 9
San Francisco 6, Oakland 4
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Cleveland 1, Houston 0
Tampa Bay 7, Detroit 0
Kansas City 13, Boston 5
Toronto 3, Minnesota 2
Chi White Sox 8, Texas 2
Seattle 6, LA Angels 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Philadelphia 13, Washington 1
Miami 3, Chi Cubs 0
Cincinnati 4, Milwaukee 2
NY Mets 5, Atlanta 2
Arizona 6, Colorado 4
LA Dodgers 4, San Diego 0
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Chicago 94, Connecticut 91
Las Vegas 89, Seattle 81
Los Angeles 79, Washington 76
Minnesota 81, Atlanta 71
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Thursday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Oakland 8, LA Angels 7
Houston 6, Cleveland 0
Tampa Bay 6, Detroit 2
Toronto 9, Minnesota 3
Texas 3, Chi White Sox 2
Kansas City 7, Boston 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Pittsburgh 5, Milwaukee 4
St. Louis 4, Chi Cubs 3
St. Louis 7, Chi Cubs 2
LA Dodgers 5, San Francisco 3
Colorado 7 San Diego 3
Philadelphia 5, Washington 4
NY Mets 6, Atlanta 4
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE PRESEASON
Las Vegas 27, Jacksonville 11
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Connecticut 77, Phoenix 64
Dallas 82, Las Vegas 80
(KHIMKI, Russia) — WNBA star Brittney Griner, who has been detained in Russia for over five months, was found guilty on drug charges in a Moscow-area court Thursday. She was then sentenced to nine years in prison.
The judge found that Griner had criminal intent and said she was guilty of smuggling and storing illegal drugs.
Griner, a 31-year-old Houston native who plays professional basketball for the Phoenix Mercury, was detained on Feb. 17 at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Khimki as she returned to Russia to play during the WNBA’s offseason after she was accused of having vape cartridges containing hashish oil, which is illegal in the country.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist, who appeared in court Thursday for the final hearing in her trial, was facing up to 10 years in prison although 9 1/2 years was the maximum sentence with time served. Griner has a right to appeal.
U.S. President Joe Biden slammed Russia in a statement on Thursday morning following Griner’s sentencing and called on Russia to “release her immediately.”
“Today, American citizen Brittney Griner received a prison sentence that is one more reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney,” Biden said.
Calls to free Griner escalated following the release of U.S. Marine veteran Trevor Reed in April, 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.
“It’s unacceptable, and I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates,” Biden wrote in the statement. “My administration will continue to work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue to bring Brittney and Paul Whelan home safely as soon as possible.”
Griner shared an emotional statement in court ahead of the verdict on Thursday morning.
She apologized to her loved ones for the hurt that her detention has caused and said that her parents instilled hard work in her and this value is what brought her to Russia.
Griner’s trip to Russia to play in the offseason has underscored the issue of pay inequality in professional basketball
Many WNBA players have traveled around the world to play in the offseason because they don’t make enough money during the season — an issue that is not as prevalent for NBA players. The top WNBA salary is $228,000 per season, whereas star NBA players make over $20 million a year.
The Phoenix Mercury star held up a photo of her Russian teammates on Thursday and said that she made “an honest mistake” by packing the vape cartridges in her bag.
The prosecutor argued that Griner’s guilt has been proven and also asked that Griner pay a $16,500 fine, which is about 1 million Russian roubles.
“This is a miscarriage of justice,” Elizabeth Rood, Charge d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Russia, who has attended each hearing, told reporters outside the court. “The U.S. Department of State has determined that Ms. Griner was wrongfully detained. Nothing in today’s decision changes that determination.”
Griner pleaded guilty to drug charges in court last month, saying that the vape cartridges containing hashish oil were in her luggage mistakenly and that she had no “intention” of breaking Russian law.
Her legal team told ABC News in a statement last month that her “guilty” plea was recommended by her Russian attorneys.
“Brittney sets an example of being brave. She decided to take full responsibility for her actions as she knows that she is a role model for many people,” the lawyers said in the statement. “Considering the nature of her case, the insignificant amount of the substance and BG’s personality and history of positive contributions to global and Russian sport, the defense hopes that the plea will be considered by the court as a mitigating factor and there will be no severe sentence.”
Griner testified last week that she did not mean to leave the cartridges in her bag, but that she was in a hurry and was stressed after recovering from COVID-19 that month. The WNBA star said she was aware that the U.S. had warned Americans about traveling to Russia, but she didn’t want to let her team down in the playoffs.
She also testified that she has permission to use medical cannabis and used a certificate to buy it in the U.S. Earlier this month, one of Griner’s attorneys presented a letter from an American doctor in court, giving her permission to use cannabis to reduce chronic pain.
The American basketball star said she was pulled aside after inspectors at the airport found the vape cartridges in her luggage and that when she was detained, she was not offered an explanation of her rights or access to an attorney. Griner said that while there was a translator present, she was not offered a complete translation and even tried to use her phone to translate.
Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine began one week after Griner was detained, and some officials have expressed concern that Americans jailed in Russia could be used as leverage in the ongoing war.
The U.S. Department of State has classified both Whelan and Griner as “wrongfully detained.”
Last week, in a sharp reversal, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that he will hold a call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov “in the coming days” to discuss securing the freedom of Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who has been detained in Russia since late 2018.
“[They] have been wrongly detained and must be allowed to come home,” Blinken told reporters in Washington, D.C, on July 27. “We put a substantial proposal on the table weeks ago to facilitate their release. Our governments have communicated repeatedly and directly on that proposal, and I’ll use the conversation to follow up personally and I hope [to] move us toward a resolution.”
Two days later, Blinken told reporters that he had a “frank and direct conversation” with Lavrov about a U.S. proposal to exchange convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout in return for Griner and Whelan’s freedom.
“I pressed the Kremlin to accept the substantial proposal that we put forth on the release of Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner,” Blinken said. “I’m not going to characterize his responses and I can’t give you an assessment of whether I think things are more or less likely, but it was important that [he] hear directly from me on that.”
During a press conference in Moscow on July 28, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Vladimirovna Zakharova confirmed that “the issue of mutual exchange of Russian and American citizens, staying in places of detention on the territory of the two countries, was discussed at one time by the presidents of Russia and the United States,” but “a concrete result has not yet been achieved.”
ABC News’ Max Karmen, Shannon Crawford, Joseph Simonetti and Tanya Stukalova contributed to this report.
(MOSCOW) — WNBA star Brittney Griner, who has been detained in Russia for over five months, was found guilty on drug charges in a Moscow-area court Thursday.
Hours earlier, the prosecutor in the case had asked that the basketball star serve 9 1/2 years in prison.
Griner, a 31-year-old Houston native who plays professional basketball for the Phoenix Mercury, was detained on Feb. 17 at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Khimki as she returned to Russia to play during the WNBA’s offseason after she was accused of having vape cartridges containing hashish oil, which is illegal in the country.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist, who appeared in court Thursday for the final hearing in her trial, is facing up to 10 years in prison although 9 1/2 years is the maximum sentence with time served. Griner has a right to appeal.
Griner shared an emotional statement in court ahead of the verdict on Thursday morning.
She apologized to her loved ones for the hurt that her detention has caused and said that her parents instilled hard work in her and this value is what brought her to Russia.
Griner’s trip to Russia to play in the offseason has underscored the issue of pay inequality in professional basketball
Many WNBA players have traveled around the world to play in the offseason because they don’t make enough money during the season — an issue that is not as prevalent for NBA players. The top WNBA salary is $228,000 per season, whereas star NBA players make over $20 million a year.
The Phoenix Mercury star held up a photo of her Russian teammates on Thursday and said that she made “an honest mistake” by packing the vape cartridges in her bag.
The prosecutor argued that Griner’s guilt has been proven and also asked that Griner pay a $16,500 fine, which is about 1 million Russian roubles.
Griner pleaded guilty to drug charges in court last month, saying that the vape cartridges containing hashish oil were in her luggage mistakenly and that she had no “intention” of breaking Russian law.
Her legal team told ABC News in a statement last month that her “guilty” plea was recommended by her Russian attorneys.
“Brittney sets an example of being brave. She decided to take full responsibility for her actions as she knows that she is a role model for many people,” the lawyers said in the statement. “Considering the nature of her case, the insignificant amount of the substance and BG’s personality and history of positive contributions to global and Russian sport, the defense hopes that the plea will be considered by the court as a mitigating factor and there will be no severe sentence.”
Griner testified last week that she did not mean to leave the cartridges in her bag, but that she was in a hurry and was stressed after recovering from COVID-19 that month. The WNBA star said she was aware that the U.S. had warned Americans about traveling to Russia, but she didn’t want to let her team down in the playoffs.
She also testified that she has permission to use medical cannabis and used a certificate to buy it in the U.S. Earlier this month, one of Griner’s attorneys presented a letter from an American doctor in court, giving her permission to use cannabis to reduce chronic pain.
The American basketball star said she was pulled aside after inspectors at the airport found the vape cartridges in her luggage and that when she was detained, she was not offered an explanation of her rights or access to an attorney. Griner said that while there was a translator present, she was not offered a complete translation and even tried to use her phone to translate.
Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine began one week after Griner was detained, and some officials have expressed concern that Americans jailed in Russia could be used as leverage in the ongoing war.
The U.S. Department of State has classified both Whelan and Griner as “wrongfully detained.”
Last week, in a sharp reversal, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that he will hold a call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov “in the coming days” to discuss securing the freedom of Griner and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who has been detained in Russia since late 2018.
“[They] have been wrongly detained and must be allowed to come home,” Blinken told reporters in Washington, D.C, on July 27. “We put a substantial proposal on the table weeks ago to facilitate their release. Our governments have communicated repeatedly and directly on that proposal, and I’ll use the conversation to follow up personally and I hope [to] move us toward a resolution.”
Two days later, Blinken told reporters that he had a “frank and direct conversation” with Lavrov about a U.S. proposal to exchange convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout in return for Griner and Whelan’s freedom.
“I pressed the Kremlin to accept the substantial proposal that we put forth on the release of Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner,” Blinken said. “I’m not going to characterize his responses and I can’t give you an assessment of whether I think things are more or less likely, but it was important that [he] hear directly from me on that.”
During a press conference in Moscow on July 28, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Vladimirovna Zakharova confirmed that “the issue of mutual exchange of Russian and American citizens, staying in places of detention on the territory of the two countries, was discussed at one time by the presidents of Russia and the United States,” but “a concrete result has not yet been achieved.”
ABC News’ Max Karmen, Shannon Crawford, Joseph Simonetti and Tanya Stukalova contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — The prosecutor in the case of Brittney Griner, who has been detained in Russia for over five months, asked that the WNBA star serve 9 1/2 years in prison as her trial comes to an end.
Griner, a 31-year-old Houston native who plays professional basketball for the Phoenix Mercury, was detained on Feb. 17 at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Khimki as she returned to Russia to play during the WNBA’s off-season after she was accused of having vape cartridges containing hashish oil, which is illegal in the country.
Griner, who appeared in court Thursday for the final hearing in her trial, is facing up to 10 years in prison although 9 1/2 years is the maximum sentence with time served. If convicted, Griner has a right to appeal.
The prosecutor argued that Griner’s guilt has been proven and also asked that Griner pay a $16,500 fine, which is about 1M Russian roubles. ABC News was present in the courtroom.
Griner pleaded guilty to drug charges in court last month, saying that the vape cartridges containing hashish oil were in her luggage mistakenly and that she had no “intention” of breaking Russian law.
Her legal team told ABC News in a statement last month that her “guilty” plea was recommended by her Russian attorneys.
“Brittney sets an example of being brave. She decided to take full responsibility for her actions as she knows that she is a role model for many people,” the lawyers said in the statement. “Considering the nature of her case, the insignificant amount of the substance and BG’s personality and history of positive contributions to global and Russian sport, the defense hopes that the plea will be considered by the court as a mitigating factor and there will be no severe sentence.”
Griner testified last week that she did not mean to leave the cartridges in her bag, but that she was in a hurry and was stressed after recovering from COVID-19 that month. The WNBA star said she was aware that the U.S. had warned Americans about traveling to Russia, but she didn’t want to let her team down in the playoffs.
She also testified that she has permission to use medical cannabis and used a certificate to buy it in the U.S. Earlier this month, one of Griner’s attorneys presented a letter from an American doctor in court, giving her permission to use cannabis to reduce chronic pain.
The American basketball star said she was pulled aside after inspectors at the airport found the vape cartridges in her luggage and that when she was detained, she was not offered an explanation of her rights or access to an attorney. Griner said that while there was a translator present, she was not offered a complete translation and even tried to use her phone to translate.
Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine began one week after Griner was detained, and some officials have expressed concern that Americans jailed in Russia could be used as leverage in the ongoing war.
The U.S. Department of State has classified both former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan and Griner as “wrongfully detained.”
Last week, in a sharp reversal, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that he will hold a call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov “in the coming days” to discuss securing the freedom of Griner and Whelan, who has been detained in Russia since late 2018.
“[They] have been wrongly detained and must be allowed to come home,” Blinken told reporters in Washington, D.C, on July 27. “We put a substantial proposal on the table weeks ago to facilitate their release. Our governments have communicated repeatedly and directly on that proposal, and I’ll use the conversation to follow up personally and I hope [to] move us toward a resolution.”
Two days later, Blinken told reporters that he had a “frank and direct conversation” with Lavrov about a U.S. proposal to exchange convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout in return for Griner and Whelan’s freedom.
“I pressed the Kremlin to accept the substantial proposal that we put forth on the release of Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner,” Blinken said. “I’m not going to characterize his responses and I can’t give you an assessment of whether I think things are more or less likely, but it was important that [he] hear directly from me on that.”
During a press conference in Moscow on July 28, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Vladimirovna Zakharova confirmed that “the issue of mutual exchange of Russian and American citizens, staying in places of detention on the territory of the two countries, was discussed at one time by the presidents of Russia and the United States,” but “a concrete result has not yet been achieved.”
(NEW YORK) — The NFL on Wednesday announced it has appealed the six-game suspension Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson was served earlier this week for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
In a statement, the league said the collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) affords either party the “right to appeal the discipline imposed by the Disciplinary Officer. Such an appeal must be filed within three days and would be heard by the Commissioner or his designee.”
“The NFL notified the NFLPA that it will appeal Judge [Sue L. ] Robinson’s disciplinary decision and filed its brief this afternoon,” the league said in its statement Wednesday. “Commissioner Roger Goodell will determine who will hear the appeal.”
Judge Sue L. Robinson, the disciplinary officer appointed by the NFL and NFLPA, issued Watson’s six-game suspension on Monday.
In her 16-page report, Robinson wrote that the NFL “carried its burden to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that Mr. Watson engaged in sexual assault (as defined by the NFL) against the four therapists identified in the Report. Mr. Watson violated the Policy in this regard.”
She also wrote that Watson violated the league’s personal conduct policy by engaging in “conduct that poses a genuine danger to the safety and well-being of another person” and “conduct that undermines or puts at risk the integrity of the NFL.”
Multiple women have filed lawsuits against Watson, accusing the 26-year-old quarterback of sexual assault and other inappropriate conduct.
ESPN reports, citing a source, that the NFL is seeking to suspend Watson for at least a year, along with hitting him with a fine and requiring that he undergo treatment.
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Wednesday’s sports events:
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
INTERLEAGUE
Cleveland 7, Arizona 4
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Tampa Bay 3, Toronto 2
Minnesota 4, Detroit 1
Seattle 7, NY Yankees 3
Chi White Sox 4, Kansas City 1
Houston 6, Boston 1
Baltimore 6, Texas 3
Oakland 3, LA Angels 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Philadelphia 3, Atlanta 1
NY Mets 9, Washington 5
Miami 3, Cincinnati 0
Pittsburgh 8, Milwaukee 7
San Diego 9, Colorado 1
LA Dodgers 3, San Francisco 0
Chi Cubs at St. Louis (Postponed)
WOMEN’S NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Atlanta 91, Indiana 81
New York 64, Los Angeles 61
Seattle 89, Minnesota 77
MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER
Charlotte FC 3, D.C. United 0
CF Montreal 2, Columbus 1
Nashville 1, Portland 1 (TIE)
Miami 1, San Jose 0
