US-Sport compact
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“Unfair and Regrettable” – NBA and WNBA criticize Griner verdict
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The Phoenix Mercury showed their support ahead of their away game against the Connecticut Sun in the North American women’s professional league WNBA by folding their arms with their opponents in the center circle in 42 seconds before the game.
Photo: dpa/Sarah Gordon
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Düsseldorf While most Europeans are asleep, the North American professional leagues are buzzing. What Happened That Night in American Football, Basketball, and Ice Hockey.
Basketball: NBA and WNBA criticize Griner verdict
The North American professional basketball leagues WNBA and NBA have sharply criticized the Russian verdict against US star Brittney Griner. The nine-year prison sentence imposed by a court in Khimki near Moscow for drug smuggling was “unfair and regrettable,” the two leagues said in a joint statement. The verdict was “foreseeable”, but the 31-year-old remains “wrongly” imprisoned, it said.
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Info The most dramatic Super Bowls in history
Photo: AP/Kathy Willens
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According to this, the WNBA and NBA want to “undiminishly work for a safe return” for the American to the USA. There is hope for an end soon.
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Griner’s WNBA team Phoenix Mercury spoke of a “sobering milestone” within the “nightmare” for their own player. “We know the process that was supposed to bring our friend home was never lawful,” the club wrote. One is “heartbroken”, at the same time there is great trust in the officials “who work every day to bring them back to their families and us”.
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Before the Mercury game at the Connecticut Sun on Thursday (local time), the players of both teams lined up in the center circle, linked their arms and, following Griner’s number, were silent for 42 seconds. Tears came to some. After that they shouted “bring her home”.
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“We knew this would happen, we were prepared for it,” said Phoenix trainer Vanessa Nygaard: “We didn’t put our hopes in the Russian judicial system.” It was “such an emotional day”.
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US President Joe Biden also called Thursday’s decision “unacceptable” in an initial reaction. The star player’s legal team announced immediately after the verdict that they would appeal, but the chances of a significant reduction in the prison sentence are likely to be slim.
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Two-time Olympic champion Griner was arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport in February, before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, after security forces found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage. At the beginning of the trial, she pleaded guilty.
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Football: Johnson makes successful debut for the Raiders
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Photo: AP/Charles Krupa
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The German football professional Jakob Johnson made a successful debut for the Las Vegas Raiders from the US professional league NFL. The fullback from Stuttgart came on as a substitute in the 27:11 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the traditional “Hall of Fame Game”. The duel in Canton/Ohio was the first preparatory game between two NFL teams for the coming season (beginning: September 8).
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Johnson (27) switched from the New England Patriots to the Raiders after the past season. The Swabian played 37 games for the Foxborough team in three years.
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With the win, Josh McDaniels also made a successful debut. The new head coach also came from the Patriots, in New England the 46-year-old was offensive coordinator and quarterback coach for years. McDaniels, who comes from Ohio, won the Super Bowl six times as a coach with the Patriots around superstar Tom Brady.
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