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Sports

Brittney Griner’s scheduled anniversary call never happened, her wife says, because US embassy in Russia wasn’t staffed

WASHINGTON — WNBA star Brittney Griner tried to call her wife nearly a dozen times through the American embassy in Russia on the couple’s fourth anniversary Saturday, but they never connected because the phone line at the embassy was not staffed, Cherelle Griner said Monday.The couple has not spoken by phone in the four months since Griner’s arrest in Russia on drug-related charges. That was to have changed Saturday, when a long-awaited call was to have finally taken place. But the day came and went without any contact, leaving an anguished Cherelle Griner to wonder what went wrong and to suspect at least initially that Russian authorities had thwarted the call.AdvertisementOn Monday, she said she learned from her wife’s lawyers a more distressing truth: Brittney Griner had tried to call 11 times over a period of several hours, dialing a number she was given at the U.S. embassy in Moscow, which the couple had been told would then patch the call through to Cherelle Griner in Phoenix. But each time, the call went unanswered because the desk at the embassy where the phone rang was apparently unstaffed Saturday.“I was distraught. I was hurt. I was done, fed up,” Cherelle Griner told The Associated Press in an interview, recounting how an anniversary she had eagerly anticipated was instead spent in tears. “I’m pretty sure I texted BG’s agent and was like: ‘I don’t want to talk to anybody. It’s going to take me a minute to get my emotions together and just tell everybody I’m unavailable right now.’ Because it just knocked me out. I wasn’t well, I’m still not well.”AdvertisementThe experience has exacerbated already simmering frustrations about the U.S. government’s response to her wife’s case. U.S. officials have repeatedly said they are working behind the scenes to get the two-time Olympian home from Russia and consider her case a top priority. But Cherelle Griner said she remains “very pissed” by the snafu, especially because the call had been on the schedule for two weeks and yet no one warned her during that time that it might be logistically impossible because of the weekend.The State Department said Monday that it was aware of the issue and was looking into it. Cherelle Griner said a contact in the U.S. government had apologized to her for the error. She said she since has learned that the one number Brittney Griner had been told to dial typically processes calls from prisoners on Mondays through Fridays but not weekends.“But mind you,” Cherelle Griner said in the interview, “this phone call had been scheduled for almost two weeks — with a weekend date.”She added: “I find it unacceptable and I have zero trust in our government right now. If I can’t trust you to catch a Saturday call outside of business hours, how can I trust you to actually be negotiating on my wife’s behalf to come home? Because that’s a much bigger ask than to catch a Saturday call.”Cherelle Griner said she still hopes to talk to or meet with President Joe Biden, but “at this point it’s starting to feel like a no.”Brittney Griner, a seven-time WNBA All-Star who plays for the Phoenix Mercury, was detained at a Russian airport on Feb. 17 after authorities there said a search of her bag revealed vape cartridges containing cannabis oil.The State Department in May designated her as wrongfully detained, moving her case under the supervision of its Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, effectively the government’s chief hostage negotiator. Russian state-run news agency Tass reported last week that her detention had been extended until July 3.So far, Cherelle Griner says she has had to rely exclusively on others’ assessments about her wife’s condition. Lawyers and consular affairs officials have been able to speak with the basketball star, but her wife has not.AdvertisementOn the evening before the call, she went to sleep at 5 p.m. so she would be awake and alert at midnight to receive the anticipated call from Russia to Phoenix that never came.“This was such a big moment because this would have been the first time where I truly could tell if she’s OK,” Cherelle Griner said. “This would have been the first time for me to actually just hear her in real time and to truly know if she’s OK or to know if she’s seconds away from not being in existence anymore.”Feinberg reported from New York. AP’s Matthew Lee in Washington contributed.

Sports

Here are all the ways to get updates on your favorite teams from Chicago Tribune sports writers

Our writers and editors update chicagotribune.com/sports throughout the day and night to make sure you can always find the latest and greatest sports news you need to be informed.We also have an e-edition, which is a digital replica of the day’s print newspaper you can read on your computer, tablet or phone.Download our app — available here for iOS and here for Android — and allow notifications if you’d like to receive updates from us.Tap the alerts icon toward the bottom right of the appSelect “Customize alert settings”Choose the topics you’re interested in: Sports, Bears, Cubs, Bulls, Blackhawks, White Sox and college sportsStay on top of sports news all day with our web notifications. We’ll let you know — right in your web browser — when there’s big breaking news happening, and also share our top picks.AdvertisementOn Twitter, our writers share their work about Chicago’s sports teams as well as break news, share their unique insights and much more.Brad Biggs, Chicago Bears: @BradBiggsColleen Kane, Chicago Bears: @ChiTribKaneJeremy Mikula, Chicago Fire and Chicago Red Stars: @JeremyMikulaMeghan Montemurro, Chicago Cubs: @M_MontemurroJulia Poe, Chicago Bulls: @byjuliapoeLaMond Pope, Chicago White Sox: @LaMondPopePaul Sullivan, Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox: @PWsullivanShakeia Taylor, Chicago sports, history and culture: @curlyfroPhil Thompson, Chicago Blackhawks and more: @_phil_thompsonDan Wiederer, Chicago Bears: @DanWiedererFollow the entire Tribune sports department: @ChicagoSportsOn Facebook, we post our best offerings throughout the day.AdvertisementOn Instagram, we share the amazing work — both current and vintage — of our Tribune photojournalists, as well as Instagram Lives on trending topics and teams.Subscribe to our YouTube channel for analysis and news from our writers.Not yet a Chicago Tribune subscriber? Here’s how to sign up.

Sports

Theo Epstein is leaving Chicago 2 years after leaving the Cubs. Here’s how he spent his final weekend in the city.

He gone.Former Chicago Cubs president Theo Epstein is leaving Chicago and heading back East.AdvertisementEpstein’s successor, president Jed Hoyer, confirmed the rumor Monday on WSCR-AM670′s “Mully and Haugh Show.” Epstein’s destination is unknown, but the Boston native will be closer to family and Major League Baseball offices in New York.[ [Don’t miss] Column: From yuppies to ‘Cuppies,’ Wrigley Field bleachers are still the place to ignore the Chicago Cubs’ failures ]Since leaving the Cubs after nine seasons on Nov. 17, 2020, Epstein has worked as a consultant to Commissioner Rob Manfred, focusing on potential rules changes to improve the game. He’s long been speculated as a replacement for Manfred down the road, though Epstein has never publicly voiced interest in becoming commissioner.AdvertisementEpstein spent part of his final weekend in Chicago at Wrigley Field, spending time with friends in the left field bleachers Friday and with family on Sunday.According to Epstein’s friends, who asked not to be named, Friday’s excursion to Wrigley was a spin on the 1986 movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” with Epstein playing the role of Ferris — Matthew Broderick’s character who enjoys an adventurous summer day in Chicago with a stopover at Wrigley.Chicago Cubs president Theo Epstein on Oct. 7, 2016, before Game 1 of a National League Division Series at Wrigley Field. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)They began at Castaways, the bar and grill on North Ave. Beach, for some pregame partying. From there, the group took Divvy bikes to Wrigley for the game, where Epstein was photographed lounging in the bleacher baskets. Photos of Epstein spread on social media, but Epstein’s friends said the photos were taken after the game.Chicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.Hoyer was invited to join the group during the game but declined.After the game, the group headed to Metro, where they watched The Strokes perform. The post, postgame party was not revealed.After a day of recovery Saturday, Epstein took his wife and two sons to the Cubs-Braves game Sunday afternoon for one last look at the ballpark, which underwent massive changes since his first day thanks in part to the revenues from the first Cubs championship since 1908.Epstein declined to comment on the farewell weekend or his future plans.[ [Don’t miss] Vintage Chicago Tribune: No more ‘city of losers’ — A look at Chicago’s golden era of sports writing ]His vision of “sustained success” for the Cubs lasted only through 2020, but Epstein changed expectations forever on the North Side, leaving Hoyer with the burden of trying to live up to those high standards.AdvertisementEpstein’s arrival in Chicago was first noted in the Tribune when he appeared in town on Oct. 9, 2011, for an interview with Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts. He was spotted by a Cubs fan at a Starbucks, where Epstein tried to pretend he was not himself. His tenure ends in the same low-key fashion, perhaps with the same Pearl Jam ball cap on his head as Epstein leaves Chicago for the next chapter.