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Sports

Man dies following brawl at middle school basketball game

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CNN
 — 

A 60-year-old man died following a brawl that broke out on Tuesday night in the town of Alburgh during a middle school basketball game, Vermont State Police (VST) said in a statement Wednesday.

Russell Giroux was taken by ambulance to Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans where he was pronounced dead, VST said.

“The circumstances of his death are under active investigation,” the statement read.

“Mr. Giroux’s body will be brought to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Burlington for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of his death,” it added.

The statement from VST indicated Giroux participated in a large fight that involved multiple spectators during a 7th-8th grade boys basketball game between Alburgh and St. Albans. Alburgh is located approximately one hour north of Burlington.

Troopers were called at around 7 p.m. to the Alburgh Community Education Center. By the time they arrived, the brawl was over and some of the participants left the school, VST said.

“This investigation is in its earliest stages and involves members of the Vermont State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations, Field Force Division and Victim Services Unit,” VST added.

“The state police is working with Grand Isle County State’s Attorney Doug DiSabito on this case.”

According to CNN affiliate WCAX, Grand Isle State’s Attorney Doug DiSabito said police are gathering video footage and information about who was there.

“In some respects, I’m at a loss for words. This should never happen,” said DiSabito, according to WCAX.

“Very sad. And it’s because of adults and I’m sad for my community.”

School officials released statements on Wednesday expressing their shock over Giroux’s death and condemned the violence that took place.

“The Maple Run Unified School District condemns the violence that occurred during the basketball game,” Maple Run Unified School District said in a Wednesday statement.

“We expect better from our communities. Fighting and violence are wholly inconsistent with the behaviors we encourage and support.

“We always seek to foster a positive learning environment in school and at school events for our students.

“The tragic events that preceded Mr. Giroux’s death have caused our schools to evaluate school programs and community involvement.”

The district said it informed school staff of the incident and is working to support students and families, “dealing with the consequences of the altercation and Mr. Giroux’s death.”

The district said it urges the Agency of Education and the Vermont Principal’s Association to consider how to best respond to unruly spectators following a spate of bad behavior.

In a letter addressed to the Alburgh community on Wednesday, the Grand Isle Supervisory Union said its “immediate goal is to remind and educate our students and families that our school culture is one of family, community, and kindness.”

“In order to best support the students and staff of the Alburgh Community Education Center, the GISU has arranged for additional support, if needed, with our regional partners to be available throughout the day.”

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Sports

Darius Miles: University of Alabama basketball player removed from the team after being charged with murder

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CNN
 — 

University of Alabama basketball player Darius Miles has been arrested and charged with murder in connection with a shooting near the campus Sunday which left a 23-year-old woman dead, Tuscaloosa law enforcement announced.

“We were made aware of the recent charge against student-athlete Darius Miles, and he is no longer a member of the Alabama men’s basketball team,” the University of Alabama athletics department said in a statement Sunday.

Michael Lynn Davis, 20, has also been charged in the shooting, the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit said in a release. Both suspects are charged with capital murder and are being held without bond, it said.

Investigators said Miles is the only person involved who is connected to the University of Alabama.

CNN has been unable to determine if the suspects have attorneys.

Police responded to the shooting around 1:45 a.m. local time Sunday and found that Jamea Jonae Harris had been shot and killed while sitting in a car less than half a mile from the university’s campus, according to a release from the violent crimes unit.

The driver of the car told police that someone had shot into his vehicle and said he returned fire in self defense, possibly striking one of the suspects, investigators said.

“After processing the scenes, speaking with multiple witnesses, and viewing video surveillance, two suspects were developed,” the release said.

One of the suspects had been hit by the returning gunfire and had a non-life-threatening wound, investigators said,

“It appears that the only motive to this was a minor altercation that these individuals had with the victim as they were out on The Strip,” said unit captain Jack Kennedy. The Strip is a hub of restaurants and businesses near the university campus.

The university said it is cooperating with the investigation, along with the athletics department.

Miles, 21, is a junior at the university and is from Washington, DC, according to an archived version of the men’s basketball team roster. Before he was removed from the team, Miles was playing his third season as a forward for the Alabama Crimson Tide, the archived roster shows.

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Sports

Luka Doncic makes NBA history with historic triple-double in Dallas Mavericks’ win over the New York Knicks

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CNN
 — 

Luka Dončić put up a historic triple-double in the Dallas Mavericks’ thrilling 126-121 overtime win over the New York Knicks on Tuesday.

The 23-year-old recorded a career-high 60 points and a career-high 21 rebounds to go with 10 assists, helping the Mavericks come from nine points down with just 33 seconds of regulation time remaining.

It is the first time in NBA history that a player has reached that stat line.

“I’m tired as hell,” Dončić said after the game. “I need a recovery beer.”

In the past 20 seasons, all 13,884 NBA teams that have trailed by at least nine points with 35 seconds or fewer remaining have gone on to lose the game, according to ESPN.

However, in a dramatic final play, Dončić intentionally missed a free throw and then secured the rebound, before scoring the putback to tie the game and force overtime.

The Slovenian star scored 10 points in the final minute of regulation time and added seven more in overtime to pull off the most improbable of wins.

Dončić also joins James Harden as the only other player in NBA history to score a 60-point triple-double, and also becomes just the sixth player to record six or more 40-point triple-doubles after Oscar Robertson, Harden, Russell Westbrook, Wilt Chamberlain and LeBron James.

“We just saw it on the screen right now,” Dončić said of his scoring feat. “We were watching NBA TV. I mean, it’s just incredible to be in those comparisons and just to be with those guys, at any stage. It’s amazing for me.”

Dončić’s 60 points also set a new franchise scoring record for Dallas, overtaking the 53 points scored by Dirk Nowitzki against Houston in 2004.

“Just with age, he has a birthday coming up here in the new year, I think he’s seen it all at the age of 23,” Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said of Dončić becoming a leader. “But just his competitiveness to win is at a very high level – and you saw that displayed tonight.

“Things weren’t going well. Give the Knicks credit, they were making a lot of threes that we didn’t think were possible. They were playing harder. We were down 10. We’ve been in this position earlier in the season, when you talk about giving up a lead or giving up a game like this.

“Just to be able to stay together and trust, Luka had a big part in that. He never was discouraged that the game was over. As you can see, he’s picking up full-court, we had a big jump ball. There’s a lot of things we’ve learned from our losses in close games like this.”

The Mavericks improve to 19-16 on the season and climb to sixth in the Western Conference, while the Knicks have now lost four straight to sit sixth in the East.

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US

Brittney Griner: After meager rations in a Russian penal colony, the basketball star is welcomed back to the US with a Christmas tree and barbecue

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CNN
 — 

Freed from a Russian penal colony and back on American soil, WNBA star Brittney Griner got her first taste of a return to normal life over the weekend at a Texas military facility.

The Olympic gold medalist arrived Friday at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio and is now staying with her wife, Cherelle Griner, in a residential environment on the base – one her agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, decorated with a Christmas tree.

Griner, 32, is “upbeat, thankful and hopeful,” Colas told CNN, after returning to the states from what US officials deemed wrongful detention in Russia.

For Griner – who spent nearly 10 months in Russian custody – “normal” has meant indulging in her favorites, including a Dr Pepper soda, the first drink she had in the airplane hangar after landing.

Griner’s relatives also have visited her off and on for hours, bringing San Antonio barbecue for her to enjoy.

The athlete has been eating far more nutritious food and supplements compared with her time in detention, Colas said. “Her energy level was really high,” she added.

Griner also got a haircut to clean up her “Russian fade,” as her friends and family jokingly call it, Colas said. Griner’s long, signature dreadlocks were cut while in captivity as she continuously battled the flu because her wet hair kept freezing, Colas said.

At the Texas military base, Griner hit the basketball court for the first time since she was imprisoned: Her first move was a dunk. Months ago, in pre-trial detention in Russia, Griner was offered a basketball and a hoop, but she declined to play, Colas said.

“I think it’s fair to say that her picking up a ball voluntarily and the first thing being a dunk … it was really encouraging,” Colas said. “She was really excited.”

Griner seems to be in good physical health, but whether she returns to the WNBA in the spring season will be up to her, according to Colas.

“Is she going to be ready? We’ll see,” Colas said.

Griner arrived at the San Antonio medical facility for a routine evaluation after her release Thursday as part of a prisoner exchange between the US and Russia for notorious convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Concerns had grown that Griner was being used as a political pawn amid Russia’s war on Ukraine after she was arrested on drug charges in February at an airport in Russia, where she plays basketball in the WNBA off-season, then later sentenced to nine years in prison.

Now, Griner’s focus will be on recuperating, including getting physical and psychological support from the government to help with her reintegration.

“She’s had a lot of psychological support,” Colas said. “The resources are very robust. It’s very supportive and very BG-centered. It’s about her developing agency.”

That care is heavily focused on helping formerly captive people regain a sense of control over their lives after lengthy detentions. Griner opted into the Department of Defense’s post-isolation program, which other wrongfully detained Americans, including Trevor Reed, have participated in, Colas said; Reed is former Marine released in April after three years of wrongful detention in Russia.

It’s not clear how long Griner and her wife will stay in San Antonio, but the decision is hers, Colas said.

But what’s become clear is that “normal” will always look different after the ordeal Griner went through. For security reasons, for instance, the Griners have already begun the process of finding a new home, Colas said.

Though it remains unknown if fans will see Griner back on the basketball court in May, one thing is certain, Colas said: Griner is eager to use her power and influence to help others – especially Paul Whelan, another American still imprisoned in Russia.

“It was one of the first things she asked me about,” Colas said. “She’s very, very concerned about that. And will be sending a message to Paul.”

Whelan already sent a message through US representatives who spoke with him in recent days: “Please tell Brittney that Paul said he’s happy she’s home,” he told her, according to Colas.

“She is absolutely thinking about the future,” Colas said. “She’s already talking about the position that she’s now in to help other people come home.”

Whelan – a US, Irish, British and Canadian citizen – is imprisoned in a Russian penal colony after he was arrested in December 2018 on espionage charges, which he has denied. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison. He, like Griner, has been declared wrongfully detained by US officials.

The US tried to persuade Russia to swap both Griner and Whelan for arms dealer Bout, but Russian officials would not budge on the matter, with Russia saying both of the Americans’ cases were handled differently based on the charges each of them faced.

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US

Brittney Griner is back in the US and dunking again after almost 10 months detained in Russia

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CNN
 — 

Fresh off her elated return to the US after months in Russian custody, two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner is back on a basketball court.

But her reintegration into American life is far from over, as is the fight by WNBA players for equity as US professional athletes. The issue was highlighted by the 10-month detention of Griner, who’d gone to Russia to play basketball in the WNBA offseason.

Griner’s first move on a Texas basketball court Sunday was a dunk, her agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, told CNN on Monday.

Confirming news first reported by ESPN, Colas said Griner wore a pair of black Chuck Taylor shoes, Phoenix Suns shorts and a T-shirt touting Title IX as she played. Months ago, in pre-trial detention in Russia, Griner was offered a basketball and a hoop, but she declined to play, Colas said.

“I think it’s fair to say that her picking up a ball voluntarily and the first thing being a dunk … it was really encouraging,” Colas said. “She was really excited.”

The 32-year-old had arrived two days earlier at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio for routine evaluation after her release Thursday from what US officials deemed wrongful detention. She was freed amid Russia’s war in Ukraine in a prisoner swap for notorious convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

It’s not clear how long Griner will stay at the medical center, Colas said.

“She’s had a lot of psychological support,” Colas said. “The resources are very robust. It’s very supportive and very BG centered. It’s about her developing agency.”

Griner’s agent believes she will try to “utilize her fame for good” but did not detail what that would look like. Colas said Griner opted into the Department of Defense’s Post Isolation Support Activities, or PISA, program that has served other wrongfully detained Americans.

It’s also unclear whether the Phoenix Mercury center will return to the WNBA. The 2023 regular season begins May 19, with training camps typically opening a month before.

“If she wants to play, it will be for her to share,” Colas told ESPN’s T.J. Quinn. “She has the holidays to rest and decide what’s next without any pressure. She’s doing really, really well. She seems to have endured this in pretty incredible ways.”

But the fact that Griner typically plays basketball in Russia during her WNBA offseasons highlights the inequities faced by professional female athletes in the US, fellow WNBA players said.

For many years, WNBA players have spent their offseasons playing in international leagues, where they often can earn more money.

“We’ve been talking about the pay disparity for a long time, and players have been going overseas for a long time,” Elizabeth Williams, a Washington Mystics player and secretary for the Women’s National Basketball Players Association, told CNN on Monday.

“I think this is when people are realizing … the dangers and perils of people going overseas and the impact of what those pay equity issues are.”

Griner was arrested on drug charges at a Russian airport in February and sentenced to nine years in prison. As concerns grew that Griner was being used as a political pawn, efforts to negotiate her release took months.

Now back on US soil, it’s not clear how long Griner will stay in Texas for medical evaluation.

“I’m understanding that it’s going to be a few more days before she gets out,” former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson told CNN on Sunday.

Richardson and his center privately work on behalf of families of hostages and detainees. He previously traveled to Russia to discuss Griner’s release, as well as Paul Whelan, a US Marine veteran who was wrongfully detained and remains in custody.

Richardson said it’s important to give former detainees like Griner ample time to get settled.

“We’ve got to give them a little space, a little time to readjust because they’ve had a horrendous experience in these Russian prisons,” said Richardson, who served as US ambassador to the United Nations in the Clinton administration.

While held in a Russian penal colony, Griner was unable to perform the work done by many female prisoners due to her size, Griner’s Russian lawyer Maria Blagovolina told ESPN and confirmed to CNN.

Most of the women in the penal colony worked sewing uniforms, but the 6-foot-9 Griner was too tall to sit at a work table, and her hands were too big to manage the sewing. So instead, she carried fabric all day, her attorney said.

On the day of her release, Griner had a feeling she would be going home, said Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, who led the prisoner exchange mission in the United Arab Emirates.

But it didn’t feel real until he boarded the plane and told her: “On behalf of the President of the United States, Joe Biden, and Secretary of State Tony Blinken, I’m here to take you home,” Carstens recalled to CNN.

He described Griner as an intelligent, compassionate, humble and patriotic person who immediately wanted to thank all the crew members who helped her.

“When she finally got onto the US plane, I said, ‘Brittney, you must have been through a lot over the last 10 months. Here’s your seat. Please feel free to decompress. We’ll give you your space,’” Carstens recalled.

“And she said, ‘Oh no. I’ve been in prison for 10 months now listening to Russian, I want to talk. But first of all, who are these guys?’ And she moved right past me and went to every member on that crew, looked them in the eyes, shook their hands and asked about them and got their names, making a personal connection with them. It was really amazing,” Carstens said.

Griner spent 12 hours of an 18-hour flight talking with Carstens “about everything under the sun,” he said.

When the government plane landed at Kelly Field, the person who emerged from the plane looked very different. Her long, signature deadlocks had been cut while in captivity. Griner continuously battled the flu while detained because her hair kept freezing and she was unable to dry them, Colas said.

The new do was not a surprise to her family, though, as she sent word home weeks earlier about her decision to cut her hair, Colas said.

In San Antonio this weekend, she received a real hair cut to clean up her “Russian fade” as her friends and family jokingly call it. After that, she hit the basketball court.

Griner’s life has been forever altered, and adjusting to everyday life could be difficult.

Jorge Toledo – one of the “Citgo 6” – was released in October as part of a prisoner swap after being detained during a 2017 business trip to Venezuela with other oil and gas executives from the Citgo Petroleum Corporation.

After returning home, Toledo told CNN, he’s had trouble sleeping and felt anxiety during normally mundane tasks such as driving.

But Toledo said he was part of a program in San Antonio that involved six days with a group of psychologists. He said the program was “extremely important” for his reintegration and hopes Griner can take advantage of similar resources.

While many celebrate Griner’s return, the fate of another American held in Russia remains uncertain.

Whelan – a US, Irish, British and Canadian citizen – is imprisoned in a Russian penal colony after he was arrested in December 2018 on espionage charges, which he has denied. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison.

With Griner back in the US, Richardson said he’s optimistic about Whelan’s release – noting Russia previously offer a trade for Whelan.

The US tried to persuade Russia to swap both Griner and Whelan for Bout, but Russian officials would not budge on the matter. Russia said the Americans’ cases were handled differently based on the charges each of them faced.

“This was not a choice of which American to bring home,” Biden said last week. “Sadly, for totally illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s. And while we have not yet succeeded in securing Paul’s release, we are not giving up. We will never give up.”

Whelan said he was happy Griner was released, but told CNN, “I am greatly disappointed that more has not been done to secure my release, especially as the four-year anniversary of my arrest is coming up.”

Griner is eager to use power and influence to help others, her agent said, especially Whelan.

“It was one of the first things she asked me about,” Colas said. “She’s very, very concerned about that. And will be sending a message to Paul.”

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US

Brittney Griner release: After release from Russian custody, focus is on providing Brittney Griner and her family additional support, officials say

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CNN
 — 

After being imprisoned in Russia for nearly 10 months, WNBA star Brittney Griner’s safe return to the US on Friday was marked by a stop at a Texas military medical facility for a routine evaluation, the US State Department said.

Griner arrived at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, early Friday – the next leg of a journey back on American soil following what the US government described as wrongful detainment that had often left her family and loved ones with little information or consolation.

“We are now focused on ensuring that Brittney and her family’s well-being are prioritized and that all available assistance can be offered to them through an appropriate manner,” US State Department principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said at a news briefing Friday.

Officials have not specified for how long Griner will be at the medical center, but the basketball star was “in good spirits” and “incredibly gracious” following her release, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told CNN.

Griner, who was arrested at a Moscow airport in February on drug charges and later sentenced to 9 years in prison, was released as part of a prisoner exchange between the US and Russia for notorious convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout.

The swap, which took months to negotiate and has drawn mixed reaction in the US for not also including fellow detainee Paul Whelan, occurred at an airport tarmac in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.

Shortly after the swap was successfully completed, US officials connected Griner to her family. That call “was as moving as it was unforgettable” to hear Griner speak on the phone with her wife, Cherelle, who was present for an Oval Office meeting, Secretary of State Tony Blinken said.

“Their strength, their resilience, has been nothing but short of inspiring,” Blinken said.

Texas Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee told CNN Griner was able to call her father from the plane.

“They all want to see her and might even want to see her back here at home, but I know that was a happy phone reunion to hear his daughter’s voice,” she said.

Jackson Lee – who represents the 18th Congressional District of Texas including Griner’s hometown of Houston – said aspects of the two-time Olympian’s current welfare “have to be reviewed.”

“We hear that she has spoken to her family members here, she sounded good, looking forward to seeing them, and we also know that she walked on her own capabilities both in terms of the swap and then when she landed in San Antonio.”

In a statement, Griner’s family thanked President Joe Biden and the administration, along with former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, whose Richardson Center worked on behalf of the family to help ensure Griner’s release and is trying to follow suit for Whelan.

“We sincerely thank you all for the kind words, thoughts and prayers – including Paul and the Whelan family who have been generous with their support for Brittney and our family during what we know is a heartbreaking time,” the statement said.

“We pray for Paul and for the swift and safe return of all wrongfully-detained Americans.”

While many are celebrating Griner’s return home – seen as a diplomatic win between two of the world’s largest nations at fierce odds over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – the fate of Whelan’s release remains unclear.

Whelan – a US, Irish, British and Canadian citizen – is currently imprisoned in a Russian penal colony after he was arrested in December 2018 on espionage charges, which he has denied. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison. He, like Griner, had been declared wrongfully detained by US officials.

The US tried to persuade Russia to swap both Griner and Whelan for arms dealer Bout, but Russian officials would not budge on the matter, with Russia saying both of the Americans’ cases were handled differently based on the charges each of them faced.

In an interview with CNN, Whelan expressed his disappointment in how the negotiations went.

“This is a precarious situation that needs to be resolved quickly,” Whelan told CNN in a phone interview. “I would hope that (Biden) and his administration would do everything they could to get me home, regardless of the price they might have to pay at this point.”

Biden insisted that his administration continues its efforts to bring Whelan home.

“This was not a choice of which American to bring home,” Biden said Thursday. “Sadly, for totally illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s. And while we have not yet succeeded in securing Paul’s release, we are not giving up. We will never give up.”

Paul Whelan’s sister, Elizabeth Whelan, told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Friday that the public discussion surrounding a potential swap has “been very difficult for my family to hear,” adding she believes her brother is being “discussed as if his only value was what we would have to give up for him.”

Asked about her family’s discussions with the US government regarding her brother’s imprisonment, Elizabeth Whelan said, “I think we’ve made it pretty clear – that as far as I’m concerned, at least – my brother is worth more, has a greater value than any Russian criminal.”

– Source:
CNN
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CNN speaks to Paul Whelan in exclusive phone call from Russian prison

Griner’s detention and subsequent return home has once again spotlighted the pay disparity women athletes face in the US – which has pushed WNBA players to go overseas to earn more during their off-seasons, including countries such as Russia.

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert told CNN Friday evening that although efforts have been ongoing to increase the pay, there’s still a long way to go.

“For too long women sports have been undervalued, under-invested in,” said Engelbert, who noted that less than 1% of all corporate sponsorship funding goes to women’s sports.

Engelbert also pointed out that the WNBA is a fairly young sports league, which was established in 1996. Still, she added the organization is working on a three-to-five-year plan to drive up players’ pay.

“We’re chipping away as we start to grow and build real momentum,” she said.

And as those changes are slowly underway, Engelbert said she believes players will continue to play overseas, especially because the average tenure in the WNBA is about five years.

“We’re never going to preclude them from making more money in leagues outside the US during our offseason. What we want is them to come and play at the highest level once they’re back here at home.”

Angel McCoughtry, a friend of Griner’s who also played in the Olympics and WNBA, played for a Russian club as well during her offseason and acknowledged that she earned more there. But she also said she would not return considering how Griner was treated.

“Russia was a place that paid us a lot of money for our talent, more than being here in our own country,” McCoughtry told CNN on Friday. “It’s sad to say I’m wealthy not because of the WNBA, but my years overseas. I would make my WNBA salary in one month overseas – my whole salary”

McCoughtry said it’s possible for WNBA players to earn more if they receive the level of promotion their male counterparts do.

“If you promote the women just like the men, people will watch,” McCoughtry said. “Once we get the brand partnerships behind us and promoting us and people know who we are, they’ll come to watch. It will grow.”

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