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    How Phoenix Fans Watch Their Teams May Change How You Watch Yours

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    Numerous franchises are expected to overhaul their local media deals, returning games to free networks. The transition is underway in Arizona.Days after Mat Ishbia reached a deal in December to buy majority stakes in the N.B.A.’s Phoenix Suns and the Phoenix Mercury of the W.N.B.A., he met with top executives to learn more about the teams’ business operations, including how local fans were able to watch their games on TV.The executives detailed three possibilities going forward, including sticking with Diamond Sports Group, which owned the regional sports network that for more than a decade had held the rights to show the teams’ games. Diamond Sports was saddled with $8 billion in debts — it would file for bankruptcy protection in March — but it still wrote big checks worth millions of dollars a year.Mr. Ishbia, though, gravitated to the riskiest of the three options: ditching the regional sports network model that most teams followed for decades and returning to showing Suns and Mercury games for free on over-the-air channels. It might cost the teams money in the short term, but the bet was that it would help them reach more fans, including those who dropped their cable subscriptions or, like many younger fans, never had one.“What was interesting was the amount of people that were reaching out to me on social media about how they couldn’t watch the Suns games,” Mr. Ishbia said in an interview, adding: “It’s their team. It’s not Mat’s team. To not be able to watch your game wasn’t an option that we were interested in.”In April, the organization announced that it would leave Diamond Sports and broadcast all Suns and Mercury games on over-the-air channels with the company Gray Television. They sent thousands of free antennas to fans who needed them. They also created a streaming option with the company Kiswe.Mr. Ishbia’s decision shook a sports media world — clubs, leagues, networks, cable and satellite providers — trying to navigate the decade-long shift in how fans watch their home teams. Those used to finding games on one channel are having to search for them elsewhere as networks and leagues reshuffle their distribution deals in response to the rise of cord cutting and the boom in streaming. Some clubs could face shortfalls as they search for ways to replace revenue lost by the end of local media deals, potentially hindering their ability to bid for top players.More teams are expected to overhaul their local media deals in the coming months as their contracts expire. Those that choose to show more of their games on free television are returning to a world that the N.F.L., which shows more than 90 percent of its games on over-the-air channels, never abandoned.“It’s back to the future,” said Michael Nathanson, a media analyst at MoffettNathanson. “As more people cut the cord, these teams are losing their ability to reach their fans. So why not put it over the air for free and also build a streaming product that’s more accessible for younger fans.”Bally Sports Arizona, the network that televised the games for Phoenix’s N.B.A., W.N.B.A., N.H.L. and Major League Baseball franchises, shut down last week.Christian Petersen/Getty ImagesAs the largest market going through this, Phoenix is ground zero for the rapid transition. In recent months, the Phoenix Coyotes of the N.H.L. and the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball joined the Suns and the Mercury in overhauling their local media deals. On Friday, Bally Sports Arizona, the Diamond Sports network that carried all of those teams, shut down.The Phoenix-area franchises are part of a growing wave of teams doing the same. The San Diego Padres, like the Diamondbacks, ended their agreement with Diamond Sports, the largest regional sports network provider. Major League Baseball used its broadcasting and streaming capabilities to keep the teams on the air and guaranteed they would get 80 percent of the revenue they received in their Diamond Sports deals.Diamond Sports, which must make at least $400 million in annual debt payments, is in talks with its creditors, some of whom want to reshape the company’s business while others want to be bought out. Diamond Sports is also in talks with the N.B.A. and other leagues about reducing their rights fees.A company spokesperson declined to comment on the talks with creditors and the leagues.Last year, Monumental Sports Network, which is owned by Ted Leonsis, the owner of the Washington Wizards (N.B.A.), Capitals (N.H.L.) and Mystics (W.N.B.A.), bought NBC Sports Washington and unveiled a new streaming service. The N.H.L.’s Vegas Golden Knights said in May that they planned to shift to a free over-the-air channel. The N.B.A.’s Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers are selling their games and programming directly to viewers with streaming packages, with the Jazz also broadcasting their games on a free channel.The Jazz are “probably the largest real media company in the state,” Ryan Smith, the team’s owner, said in an interview this year. “If you actually think about the N.B.A., we’re not that different than a media or tech company.”Mr. Smith said he expected most teams to take over their broadcasts entirely within three years.Major League Baseball and the N.B.A. have been preparing for this possibility for years. When Sinclair, Diamond’s parent company, bought the regional sports networks from Fox Sports in 2019, M.L.B. made a bid because it wanted to control as much of its content as possible, Commissioner Rob Manfred said.“That was a product of our belief the media was going to change dramatically,” he said, noting that 11 major league teams still have contracts with Diamond Sports.Local media deals have traditionally been handled by the clubs, but in January, M.L.B. hired executives from regional sports networks to develop contingency plans, like taking back the rights to Padres and Diamondbacks games and showing them on MLB.TV’s subscription service, as well as an array of cable and satellite companies. The broadcasts included the same announcers.While deals with regional sports networks bring in dependable checks for teams, cord cutting has led to shrinking viewership.Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves, via Getty ImagesJason and Wendy Dow, who live in Queen Creek, south of Phoenix, canceled their cable package with Cox this summer to save money and signed up for YouTube TV. Now they watch the Diamondbacks using the MLB app, which they said had better streaming functions.“I was kind of upset at first, but it’s turned out to be better in the end,” Jason Dow said at a recent Diamondbacks home game. “On the old feed, you basically just saw the game without a lot of extras.”The N.B.A. began preparing for changes in 2018, creating a “next gen” service that includes a streaming service and production and distribution support that teams can use to stream broadcasts. So far, the Clippers, the Jazz and the Suns are using it.Diamond’s bankruptcy doesn’t affect every team. Franchises like the New York Knicks, the Denver Nuggets and the Wizards in the N.B.A. and the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox in baseball own their networks. Other teams are locked into long-term deals, like the Los Angeles Dodgers, who signed a 25-year, $8.35 billion deal with Time Warner Cable in 2013 and have part ownership of their regional sports network.While the deals bring in dependable checks, some teams are reaching a shrinking viewership because of cord cutting. For others, like the Nuggets and the Dodgers, disputes with carriers like DirecTV and Comcast meant their games weren’t available to most people in their markets for part of their contracts.The Suns first had games on cable television in 1981, and started broadcasting games on Fox Sports, which later became Bally Sports, in 2003.“​At the time it seemed pretty good, pretty solid,” said Jerry Colangelo, who was with the Suns as an executive and then an owner from 1968 until 2004. “And they had some strong years of growth, for sure.”Instead of outsourcing the production and ad sales to the networks, the Suns produced their own content “to control our own destiny,” Mr. Colangelo said.The Suns continued to produce their own games and sell their own ads after Mr. Colangelo sold the team. That gave them and the Mercury a head start when Mr. Ishbia decided to change course. Most other teams will have to create those resources if they cut ties with regional sports networks.The early results have been positive. Viewership for Mercury games jumped 418 percent last season, said Josh Bartelstein, chief executive of the Suns and the Mercury. Mr. Ishbia said getting fans hooked on the Suns and the Mercury was the goal. He has made big (and expensive) moves since buying the team, trading for the highly paid stars Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, and investing more than $100 million in a new practice facility for the Mercury and a new headquarters for both teams.“I’m not focused on money,” Mr. Ishbia said. “We’re focused on success. We’re focused on fan experience. And money always follows those things.”He added: “I think other teams will follow whether they have to or whether they want to. I think this is the future.” More

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      WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury End 10-Season Playoff Streak

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      The W.N.B.A.’s Phoenix Mercury will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2012. Their sustained success was rare among major pro sports teams.When the Phoenix Mercury lost to the Dallas Wings on Sunday, it ended an impressive period of sustained success. After a league-leading 10-year streak, the team will not be making the W.N.B.A. playoffs this season.Being good enough to make the playoffs year after year is surprisingly difficult in sports. Player turnover, coaching changes or injuries, or all three, can lead to a losing record and a postseason on the sideline. Even with expanded playoff fields in many sports, a decade-long run like the Mercury’s is rare in the modern game.Here’s a look at the current teams around North America that have been consistently good enough for the most seasons.After being the No. 1 overall pick in 2013, Brittney Griner has made the playoffs in every season of her career. Until now.Ross D. Franklin/Associated PressN.H.L.: Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs, 7Full credit to the Bruins and Leafs for their current seven-season runs. Neither streak includes a Stanley Cup though. The Bruins last lifted the Cup in 2011 and the Leafs in … looking … looking … 1967.But the most impressive recent playoff streak in hockey goes to the Pittsburgh Penguins, who made it 16 straight times, winning Cups in 2009, 2016 and 2017. Last season, the team missed the playoffs by a point to end that run.W.N.B.A.: Connecticut Sun, 7For the Mercury, the 10-year streak coincided with the arrival of Brittney Griner, a first overall draft pick. For the Sun, the key was starting Jonquel Jones, who had been a substitute in her rookie year. She scored 15 points a game and averaged a W.N.B.A.-record 12 rebounds a game in the 2017 season to take the Sun back to the playoffs.The team has not missed since, including this season, its first after trading Jones to the Liberty. The team has two finals appearances, but no titles, during the streak.The Connecticut Sun became a perennial postseason team once they elevated Jonquel Jones to the starting lineup. With Jones now playing for the Liberty, Connecticut is still thriving.Michelle V. Agins/The New York TimesN.F.L.: Kansas City Chiefs, 8Say what you will about Andy Reid, but he has led Kansas City to the playoffs eight straight times. How hard is that? The next-best streak is four, by the Buffalo Bills. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have three, three teams have two, and the streaks of the other 26 teams are at one or zero.While Reid has had Patrick Mahomes as his starting quarterback for the past five seasons, the streak also includes three seasons with Alex Smith as the starter. It also includes three Super Bowl appearances in the last four seasons and two wins.N.B.A.: Boston Celtics, 9The Celtics, who made 19 straight playoff appearances in the 1950s and ’60s, and 14 more in the ’80s and early ’90s, are back on top now as well with a more modest streak.That run has included a consistent core: six seasons of Jayson Tatum, seven of Al Horford and Jaylen Brown and nine of Marcus Smart. It has also included an N.B.A. finals appearance in 2022, a loss to the Golden State Warriors.The Celtics have a long way to go to match the most impressive recent playoff streak in sports. The San Antonio Spurs made the playoffs in 22 straight seasons before missing the last three times. A new streak could well be starting next season though, with the arrival of the No. 1 overall pick, Victor Wembanyama.Colleges are a different matter, of course, but that makes it no less impressive that Kansas’ men’s team has made 33 consecutive N.C.A.A. tournaments. And Tennessee’s women’s team has made every N.C.A.A. tournament that has ever been held — 41 of them.The Boston Celtics’ nine-season streak of making the playoffs started before the arrival of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, but the versatile duo has helped sustain it.Maddie Meyer/Getty ImagesM.L.B.: Los Angeles Dodgers, 10This streak is soon going to be 11, barring an epic collapse. The Dodgers lead the National League West by 12 games, though they haven’t technically clinched a playoff spot.The run includes back-to-back World Series losses, to the Houston Astros and the Boston Red Sox in 2017 and 2018, and a championship in 2020, albeit one that was played out in a Covid bubble in Arlington, Texas.Stalwart hitters for the team have been Justin Turner (156 homers, 2014 to 2022) and Corey Seager (.504 slugging, 2015 to 2021), yet with both players gone this season, the team is still among baseball’s best.The player most identified with the modern Dodgers, going back not just to the start of the streak in 2013 but all the way to 2010 when he was 20 years old, is starter Clayton Kershaw. He has 208 regular-season wins with the team plus 13 in the playoffs and three in the World Series, two of them in the 2020 victory.M.L.S.: New York Red Bulls, 13Here’s a chance to stump your friends: What major professional team has the longest active playoff streak? It is unlikely they will come up with the Red Bulls.The answer seems surprising because the Red Bulls have been around since the inaugural season of M.L.S., 1996, when they were the MetroStars, and have yet to win an M.L.S. Cup, which goes to the playoffs’ winner. The best they have done during their current 13-season streak is reach the semifinals, which they have done three times.This season, with nine teams from each conference making the playoffs, the Red Bulls are currently 11th, three points out with nine games to play. So you might want to ask that trivia question quickly. More

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      Brittney Griner Is Creating a New Normal, for Herself and the W.N.B.A.

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      PHOENIX — Brittney Griner embarked on a four-day itinerary that would disrupt anyone’s circadian rhythm.First came the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington, where she was decked out in a sharp, black suit that Saturday night. President Biden pointed to her in the audience and said, “Boy, I can hardly wait to see you back on the court.”Soon she was rushing to catch a flight, landing in Phoenix at 4 a.m. for the start of W.N.B.A. training camp with the Mercury. Then she hustled back east, to New York, for her first Met Gala. She wore a sleek tan suit, and her wife, Cherelle Griner, was in a strapless white gown, both custom outfits by Calvin Klein. They mingled with A-list celebrities that night, but Brittney needed to be back in Phoenix by Tuesday afternoon for more basketball and, she had hoped, a nap.The sparkling events, time-zone hopping and overall spectacle were overwhelming but perhaps also came as a kind of relief for Brittney Griner, who spent nearly 10 months detained in Russia and returned to the United States in December as a new symbol of hope. Ensnared in a geopolitical showdown between Washington and Moscow, Griner drew attention not only to herself and to the plight of other foreign detainees but also to the financial disparities facing women in sports that had brought her to Russia in the first place.On Friday, Griner will return to the court for her first official W.N.B.A. game in 579 days. The league is not the same now, in part because of her. The issues her detention spotlighted are not new and are unlikely to be easily resolved. But she has galvanized a potent fan base and sports work force who are both eager to welcome her home and to use this moment to promote change alongside her.“We have wanted change for a long time, but now we’re really starting to demand it,” Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier said. “We’re just getting a little more impatient with that and realizing that it’s an issue where we don’t have the money yet, but pushing so that really, really soon we do have the resources to be treated like the athletes we are.”A modest crowd roared for Griner this month during a preseason game, her first action since she was released from Russia.Christian Petersen/Getty ImagesWhy Brittney Griner Was in RussiaRussian customs officials detained Griner at an airport near Moscow in February 2022 after finding vape cartridges with hashish oil in her luggage as she returned to play for UMMC Yekaterinburg, a professional team that reportedly paid her at least $1 million. She was convicted on drug charges and sentenced to nine years in a penal colony, but she was freed in a prisoner swap for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer, in December. The U.S. State Department said that she had been wrongfully detained.The W.N.B.A., now in its 27th season, has long watched dozens of its players go overseas during each off-season in search of higher pay, though the league has been trying to offer them additional ways to make money stateside. The maximum salary in the W.N.B.A. is about $230,000, and was half as much just a few years ago. Top players like Griner, a seven-time All-Star center, can command hundreds of thousands more from international teams. Many people were not aware of this dynamic until Griner’s detention and expressed shock and frustration on social media and on television shows.“As much as I would love to, you know, pay my light bill for the love of the game, I can’t,” Griner said last month during her first news conference since she was freed.The Associated Press reported that 67 of the league’s 144 players still played internationally this off-season, indicative of the strong pull of the opportunity to make additional income. But in light of Griner’s detention and the war in Ukraine, players eschewed the historically lucrative Russian organizations for teams in countries like Italy and Turkey. About 90 players played internationally five years ago.Collier, 26, who has played for international teams in W.N.B.A. off-seasons, said younger players gain important experience overseas. But she said she doubted she would play abroad again after Griner’s experience and because she wants to spend more time with her daughter, who will turn 1 next Thursday.“I also encourage everyone that played a part in bringing me home to continue their efforts to bring all Americans home,” Griner said in December.Caitlin O’Hara/Reuters‘That’s How You Build Household Names’W.N.B.A. officials have attributed players’ modest salaries to its historically modest — and perhaps meager — revenue and media attention. Many W.N.B.A. players have become accustomed to entering the league with less media fanfare and to at times playing before far smaller audiences than they experienced in college.“I’ve been a part of it when I was in college and it was the hottest ticket in the country,” said Mercury guard Diana Taurasi, who starred at UConn before becoming the W.N.B.A.’s career leading scorer. She continued: “How do we make the hottest ticket in the country for the best basketball players in the world in the W.N.B.A.? That, to me, it only happens in women’s sports where the adolescents get more attention than the grown-ups.”Griner, who joined the Mercury in 2013, has been a star since she became known for dunking at Baylor. At her first news conference since returning, Griner pleaded with the unusual swell of reporters to come and cover games during the season, too.“The league is a league that needs celebrity,” said Candy Lee, a professor of journalism and integrated marketing communications at Northwestern. She added: “The league can take advantage of it. The Mercury can take advantage of it.”The surge in W.N.B.A. interest because of Griner has dovetailed with broader momentum for women’s sports in recent years. The N.C.A.A. Division I women’s basketball championship game last month shattered records with an average of 9.9 million viewers, according to ESPN.A whirlwind few days for Griner included the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner and the Met Gala, which she attended with her wife, Cherelle Griner.Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet for The New York TimesW.N.B.A. teams will play a record 40 regular-season games this year, and the league signed a multiyear deal with Scripps to televise Friday night games on the network ION. Griner’s first two regular-season games, on Friday in Los Angeles and Sunday in Phoenix against Chicago, will be nationally televised by ESPN. Viewership during the 2022 regular season rose 16 percent over the previous year, according to the league, making it the most-watched season in 14 years.Flip on the N.B.A. playoffs and you’re likely to spot a W.N.B.A. player, like Candace Parker of the Las Vegas Aces or Arike Ogunbowale of the Dallas Wings, featured prominently in a commercial. Puma recently announced the second signature shoe for the Liberty’s Breanna Stewart. Griner, who became the first openly gay athlete signed to Nike in 2014, remains with the brand, a spokesman confirmed, but the company did not answer questions about whether it planned to market her this season.A few weeks before Griner was detained, W.N.B.A. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert announced that the league had raised $75 million from investors that she planned to use for marketing and revamping the league’s business model.Collegiate stars like Angel Reese of Louisiana State, Paige Bueckers of UConn and Caitlin Clark of Iowa are poised to enter the league in the next few years, bringing their dynamic games, name recognition and national television exposure.“That’s why we’re putting so many marketing dollars behind some of our star players,” Engelbert said. She added: “That’s how you build household names.”Griner’s absence and images of her behind bars or in court weighed on her Phoenix teammates last year.Pool photo by Evgenia NovozheninaThe Travel DebateConcerns about Griner’s security while traveling since her detention have added to the fiery debate about travel in the W.N.B.A.Unlike in the N.B.A. or on many top men’s and women’s college teams, W.N.B.A. players fly on commercial airlines to games. It has long been a sore point for players, who have had to sleep in airports or rush to games because of delays. This year, it is widely believed that Griner will need to travel privately, though neither the Mercury nor the W.N.B.A. have disclosed her plans.“Would definitely like to make all those flights private,” Griner said. “That would be nice. Not just for me and my team, but for the whole league. We all deserve it. We work so hard. We do so much and it would be nice where we finally get to the point where we get to that point, too.”The W.N.B.A. has said that it cannot afford the tab of over $20 million a season for charter flights, even though some owners might be willing to provide them for their own teams. Charter flights are prohibited in the collective bargaining agreement between team owners and the players’ union as an unfair competitive advantage. The W.N.B.A. fined the Liberty $500,000 for secretly using charter flights to travel to some games during the 2021 season.In April, the league announced that it would have charter flights for teams playing on consecutive days during the regular season and for all playoff games. The W.N.B.A. had made exceptions in similar situations previously.“We’re going to chip away at this as we continue to build this model,” Engelbert said. “Because once you do it, you have to do it essentially for perpetuity, so we want to make sure we’re not putting the financial viability of the league at risk.”On Thursday, the W.N.B.A. players’ union announced a deal with Priority Pass to give players access to airport lounges, which could provide food, spa treatments and places to sleep. Nneka Ogwumike, the star Los Angeles forward who is president of the players’ union, said in a statement that she hoped other “partners” would see the deal as a “call to action.”In a statement, Terri Jackson, the union’s executive director, called the deal a “significant step in the right direction.”Players around the W.N.B.A. wrote to Griner and pushed for her release throughout 2022.Rebecca Noble for The New York Times‘She Impacts the World’Vince Kozar, the president of the Mercury, described an ominous cloud over the franchise last season at every practice, media session and game without Griner. Brief video clips that emerged of her in Russia showed her handcuffed or caged. The day Griner was sentenced, Mercury players came together and cried — then had to play a game. “You carried that weight of the uncertainty and the fear,” Kozar said.It finally, suddenly, parted upon Griner’s release in December. Kozar did not expect Griner to announce immediately whether she would again play in the W.N.B.A. But when she returned to the United States, she said she would play.Griner may have been the most plugged-in W.N.B.A. player last season. Players from around the league sent her letters, their only means of communicating with her. In letters with Kozar, Griner was not asking about the organization and its going-ons as much as informing him about them.“It was just a reminder that basketball was one of the things that had been taken away from her, this thing how she impacts the world that’s central to her identity, that so many of her relationships are built around,” Kozar said.Griner will lead the league in hugs this season. She scribbled autographs and posed for selfies in the tunnel of a preseason game against the Sparks in Phoenix last week. It was her first action since she’d returned. A modest crowd cheered louder than it seemed capable of during Griner’s pregame introduction. Mercury Coach Vanessa Nygaard said chills ran down her spine.Griner towered over everyone else on the court, securing her first bucket on a quick turnaround a minute into the first quarter. All right, here we go, Griner thought to herself. So much had seemed unfamiliar to her lately. Jet-setting for a living? That’s not her, she said with a laugh. But that first shot, she thought, that felt comfortable.Matt York/Associated Press More

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      Brittney Griner Will Return to W.N.B.A.

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      Griner, who was released from a prison camp in Russia in December, signed a one-year contract with the Phoenix Mercury.Brittney Griner, the basketball star who was detained in Russia for 10 months, has signed a one-year contract to continue her playing career with the W.N.B.A.’s Phoenix Mercury, according to a person with knowledge of the agreement who spoke on the condition of anonymity.Griner became the center of a geopolitical showdown between the United States and Russia for much of 2022 after customs officials at an airport near Moscow detained her for carrying a small amount of cannabis oil in vape cartridges in her luggage.A Russian court convicted her of drug smuggling, and in August Griner was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony. The State Department declared Griner wrongfully detained and sought a prisoner exchange for her release.An exchange was made in December, with Griner being returned to the United States while Viktor Bout, an arms dealer who had been convicted nearly a decade earlier, was sent back to Russia.In an Instagram post after her release, Griner pledged to work to free other Americans who have been declared wrongfully detained and said she planned to play in the W.N.B.A. again. Griner last played in the W.N.B.A. in 2021, producing one of the best campaigns of her career, with averages of 20.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.9 blocks. Phoenix opens its season against the Los Angeles Sparks on May 19.Tania Ganguli More

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      With Suns Deal, Mat Ishbia Is Close to His Basketball Dream

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      Mat Ishbia was a walk on at Michigan State 20 years ago before he became a wealthy businessman. His $4 billion deal to buy the Phoenix Suns could help him live his sports dream.At times, Jason Richardson may have regretted playing alongside his friend Mat Ishbia on the Michigan State men’s basketball team.“Mat was always the upbeat, the positive teammate that I hated to guard,” Richardson said, laughing. He added: “He’d get coach mad at us.”Ishbia was the shortest player, but he had boundless energy. When he ran the scout team, Coach Tom Izzo would sometimes yell at the starters.“Hey, if Mat can make you do this … ”“Why can’t you cover Mat?”Said Richardson: “We’re like, man, ‘Mat, chill out, man.’ Nope. He took his job seriously.”Richardson and Ishbia were freshmen during the 1999-2000 season, when Michigan State won an N.C.A.A. Division I championship. Four players from that team went on to play in the N.B.A., including Richardson, while Ishbia took his competitive fire to a desk job at his father’s small mortgage-lending company, United Wholesale Mortgage. Ishbia is now its billionaire chief executive overseeing thousands of employees, including a few of his old teammates.Ishbia, left, at a Michigan State during the 2000 N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament. Four players from that team went on to the N.B.A.Getty ImagesOn Tuesday, Ishbia agreed to purchase a majority stake in the N.B.A.’s Phoenix Suns and the W.N.B.A.’s Phoenix Mercury, including the entire share of Robert Sarver, the disgraced majority owner. The teams were valued at $4 billion as part of the deal. Ishbia’s brother, Justin Ishbia, will be a major investor, and they are expected to bring in smaller investors.While Ishbia has long dreamed of owning a professional sports team, this opportunity arose only because of a yearslong scandal in the Suns organization with lingering effects that could prove daunting to whoever takes over. Sarver was pressured to sell the teams in September after an N.B.A. investigation by an independent law firm found toxic behavior by Sarver for years, from using racist slurs for Black people to treating female employees inequitably. Other employees, some of whom are no longer with the teams, were also found to have behaved inappropriately.If the N.B.A. approves the sale, Ishbia will become one of the youngest controlling owners in all of American professional sports at 42 years old. His mission will be to reboot the workplace culture of the Suns, while also bringing the franchise its first championship. The Mercury, who have won three championships, are trying to move forward after spending much of the year worrying about their star center Brittney Griner. She spent nearly 10 months detained in Russia on drug charges until she was released in a prisoner swap this month. The U.S. State Department said she had been “wrongfully detained.”The Phoenix Mercury had an up and down season this year while they were without Brittney Griner, who was detained in Russia on drug charges for nearly 10 months.Rebecca Noble for The New York TimesRichardson, who played for the Suns from 2008 to 2010, expressed confidence in Ishbia’s ability to handle the organization’s challenges.“Mat’s going to run it totally different,” said Richardson, who remains close to Ishbia. “It’s going to be upbeat. It’s going to be a family atmosphere. It’s going to be a team atmosphere. He’s going to do things to make that franchise valuable and successful.”Building capitalAfter graduating from Michigan State’s business school in 2003, Ishbia started working for United Wholesale Mortgage, which his father, Jeff Ishbia, founded in 1986 as a side business.“I went there with the concept that I was gonna be there for six months, a year,” Ishbia told Forbes last year. “No one likes mortgages. I don’t like them still.”He described it slightly differently last month in an interview on HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel”: “I learned that one, I could compete. Two, I could take all the things I learned from Izzo and, like, outwork everybody and be successful, and I saw the opportunity. And I’ve loved mortgages ever since.”The company had about a dozen employees when Ishbia started, according to a company bio. In 2013, Ishbia was named chief executive. Soon, the company was reporting more than $1 billion in mortgage sales. The company reported $107.7 billion in mortgage loans for 2019.Last month, U.W.M. passed Rocket Mortgage as the largest mortgage lender in the country. Rocket Mortgage was founded by Dan Gilbert, who owns the N.B.A.’s Cleveland Cavaliers.Dan Gilbert, who owns the Cleveland Cavaliers, founded Rocket Mortgage, a chief competitor for Ishbia’s company.Tony Dejak/Associated PressGuy Cecala, the executive chair of Inside Mortgage Finance, an industry newsletter, said that Ishbia and Gilbert were considered “mavericks” in the mortgage industry.“They’re very competitive with one another in mortgage lending and outside the mortgage-lending realm,” Cecala said.The two mortgage companies have publicly feuded. Earlier this year, Ishbia criticized Gilbert, in a post on LinkedIn, for reducing Rocket’s work force. Last year, U.W.M. announced that it would no longer work with brokers who also do business with Rocket Mortgage and another competitor, a decision that led to a pending legal challenge.When pressed about the decision on CNBC last year, Ishbia said it wasn’t about exclusivity. He suggested that the competitors were operating in a “gray area” he didn’t want to be part of. Gilbert was unavailable for comment.As Ishbia’s wealth grew through the mortgage business, he was active politically, donating to both Democrats and Republicans.He donated to the primary campaign of Alex Lasry, a Democrat, in this year’s Wisconsin Senate race. Lasry is the son of Marc Lasry, who owns the N.B.A.’s Milwaukee Bucks, and is a Bucks executive. Ishbia also supported both Republicans in the 2020 Senate runoffs in Georgia, including an incumbent, Kelly Loeffler, who owned the W.N.B.A.’s Atlanta Dream. Loeffler was in an open feud with her team’s mostly Black players, who backed her Democratic opponent after she disparaged the Black Lives Matter movement. She lost to that opponent, the Rev. Raphael Warnock, who is Black, and she later sold the Dream.Ishbia has also given back to his alma mater. Last year, he pledged $32 million to Michigan State. On “Real Sports,” he said an additional $14 million would go toward the $95 million salary of the school’s football coach, Mel Tucker.Two years ago, Izzo connected Ishbia with Dick Vitale, the college basketball broadcaster, who also raises money for pediatric cancer research. Vitale said Ishbia offered him $1 million during their first conversation, and then he and his brother, Justin, followed up with further seven-figure donations.“Shocked the heck out of me,” Vitale said. “Are you kidding me? That is so rare. I wish I could get more entertainers and more athletes, more financially successful people to join me in my quest. But it’s not that easy.”Huddles, chants and mortgagesEvery so often, Ishbia will bring his three children, ages 8, 9 and 11, to the office. They’ll come to U.W.M.’s senior leadership meetings toting notepads.“It’s cute to look over and, you know, watch when they write things down,” said Melinda Wilner, who has been U.W.M.’s chief operating officer since 2015.Ishbia’s father sits on U.W.M.’s board of directors and still comes to some company meetings.“He instilled a strong work ethic in Mat for sure, and his brother,” said Sarah DeCiantis, U.W.M.’s chief marketing officer.When asked who Ishbia’s biggest influences are, DeCiantis didn’t hesitate.“His dad, his mom and Tom Izzo,” she said.Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo, center, with the team Ishbia played on that won the N.C.A.A. championship in 2000.Brian Gadbery/NCAA Photos via Getty ImagesIzzo, she said, taught Ishbia how to hold people accountable and motivate them. Ishbia was a student coach under Izzo for his final season. The “Real Sports” segment last month showed that U.W.M. has borrowed some elements of sports culture for its workplace, like team huddles broken by chants.Izzo once visited on a Thursday and was told that Thursdays were Ishbia’s day to walk around visiting employees. He often asks executives for lists of people who have been performing well so he can call with his appreciation.He uses Izzo’s lessons on managing people with a younger set as well: his children’s sports teams. Blake Kolo, a close friend and an executive with U.W.M., whose children play on the same teams as Ishbia’s, said Ishbia’s one rule is to be positive.“If you join the team — it doesn’t matter if you’re a parent or a kid — we’re OK with so much, but you just can’t be negative,” Kolo said.Chasing sports ownershipKolo recalled a flight home from the Bahamas nearly a decade ago with Ishbia and a small group of friends. Ishbia asked everyone about their goals for the next year.Some did not know, but he gave them all a chance to share before it was his turn.“My goal that will always remain on my list is to be an owner of a sports team,” Kolo remembered Ishbia saying. “You know, that’s a long-term goal. That’s not my 12-month goal.”At the time, Ishbia was a wealthy man, but he didn’t have the fortune required to buy a team. Then, U.W.M. went public in 2021.Ishbia, center, took United Wholesale Mortgage public in 2021, which helped him gain the capital to seriously contend to buy professional sports teams.Business Wire, via Associated PressIshbia was part of a bid to buy the N.F.L.’s Denver Broncos this year, joining a group that included Alec Gores, who invested in U.W.M. and is the older brother of Tom Gores, the Detroit Pistons owner. Ishbia also had been mentioned as a possible suitor for the Washington Commanders in recent months.Richardson said he never expected Ishbia to buy a team so far from Michigan, where U.W.M. is based. “But that just shows you how bad he wanted to own the franchise and be a part of the N.B.A. team and help a franchise win a championship,” he said.According to a person close to Ishbia, he spent time in Phoenix as he researched the team and the market and became excited by what he saw as a strong opportunity to win. Ishbia plans to continue living in the Detroit area, the person said.The Mercury won W.N.B.A. championships in 2007, 2009 and 2014. The Suns have never won a championship, but they have been to the N.B.A. finals three times, including in 2021. They have been one of the league’s best teams for the past three seasons, led by guard Devin Booker, who grew up in Michigan.“I 100 percent know Mat Ishbia wanted to get a team to win a championship,” Izzo said. “Period.”Phoenix Suns guards Chris Paul, left, and Devin Booker, right, have helped the team find success over the past several seasons, including a trip to the N.B.A. finals in 2021.Matt York/Associated PressIzzo also teased, “He’s an athletically driven guy, that’s body isn’t as athletically driven.”Ishbia’s sale must be approved by three-fourths of the N.B.A.’s board of governors, which includes a representative from each of the league’s 30 teams. Before the vote, the league will vet his finances, conduct a background check and have a small advisory group of owners assess whether Ishbia’s ownership group would be a beneficial partner.Deals can fall through. In August 2011, Alex Meruelo, a California-based pizza-chain owner and real estate magnate, agreed to to buy a majority stake in the Atlanta Hawks. The league office had concerns about his finances, and about three months later Meruelo said that the sale was off by mutual agreement.But if Ishbia’s deal is approved, those who know him best say that he will bring a new energy to an organization in sore need of a reset.“You got to win pretty quick in sports, you know, or everybody’s mad at you,” Izzo said.He thinks Ishbia’s tenure with the Suns and Mercury will be similar to his time leading U.W.M. — that he’ll demand short-term success, and have a long-term vision and that he’ll be very hands on with the organization.“He’s a pit bull,” Izzo said. “With a very warm heart.”Sheelagh McNeill More

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      Mat Ishbia to Acquire Phoenix Suns and Mercury For $4 Billion

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      Ishbia, the chief executive of United Wholesale Mortgage, would replace Robert Sarver as the teams’ majority owner. Sarver was pushed to sell amid a workplace misconduct scandal.Mat Ishbia, the chief executive of United Wholesale Mortgage, and his brother, Justin Ishbia, have agreed to buy a majority stake in the N.B.A.’s Phoenix Suns and the W.N.B.A.’s Phoenix Mercury in a deal that values the teams at $4 billion.Mat Ishbia and Robert Sarver, the majority owner of the teams, announced the agreement Tuesday night. Sarver had said he would sell the teams in September, after an N.B.A. investigation found that he had mistreated employees over many years, including by using racist language.The deal is for more than 50 percent ownership, including all of Sarver’s stake. It will not be finalized until it is approved by the N.B.A.’s board of governors.“Mat is the right leader to build on franchise legacies of winning and community support and shepherd the Suns and Mercury into the next era,” Sarver said in a statement.The valuation of $4 billion is about 10 times what a Sarver-led group paid for the teams in 2004 and would be a league record. The previous high price was Joe Tsai’s full acquisition of the Nets in 2019 that valued the franchise at $2.35 billion. It is the second-most expensive acquisition of an American sports franchise in history, behind only the sale of the N.F.L.’s Denver Broncos for $4.65 billion earlier this year.In September, the N.B.A. suspended Sarver for a year and fined him $10 million — the maximum allowed — after an investigation found that he had used racial slurs and treated female employees inequitably over many years. The punishment generated significant backlash, with players and fans saying that it was not harsh enough. Amid that pressure, Sarver said he would sell the Phoenix basketball teams, citing an “unforgiving climate.”Ishbia, 42, who played for Michigan State’s men’s basketball team, has wanted to buy a professional sports team for some time. Justin Ishbia is a managing partner at the Chicago-based investing firm Shore Capital. Last month, Mat Ishbia announced that he was interested in purchasing the N.F.L.’s Washington Commanders. He had also bid for the Broncos before they were sold in June to the Walton and Penner families.Ishbia began researching the Suns organization after Sarver decided to sell his stake, and he spent time in Phoenix during the past two months to better understand the market, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. Ishbia “fell in love” with the market and decided to aggressively pursue purchasing the team, the person said. Ishbia lives in the Detroit area, where United Wholesale Mortgage is based, and would not move to Phoenix if he is approved to buy the teams, the person said.In a statement Tuesday, Ishbia said he was “extremely excited” about the deal to buy the teams. “I have loved experiencing the energy of the Valley over the last few months,” he said. “Basketball is at the core of my life.”Ishbia was a guard for Michigan State, where he won a national championship in 2000. He told Crain’s Detroit Business in 2020 that he was the “14th best player on a 14-person team.” After graduating from business school at Michigan State in 2003, Ishbia began to work for United Wholesale Mortgage, which his father, Jeff Ishbia, founded in 1986. Mat Ishbia was named chief executive in 2013, and the company went public in 2021.Now Ishbia hopes to take over the Suns organization, which has been in the spotlight since ESPN published a story in November 2021 in which several current and former employees accused Sarver of fostering an inappropriate work culture. The N.B.A. commissioned an investigation, conducted by an independent law firm, which found that Sarver “clearly violated common workplace standards.”According to the investigators’ report, Sarver used a racial slur at least five times; told a pregnant employee that she would be “unable to do her job upon becoming a mother”; and often made crude jokes about sex and commented on women’s bodies.In one instance from 2011, according to the report, Sarver brought a female employee to tears after berating her about a video she had produced. Later, Sarver asked the employee, “Why do all the women cry around here so much?”Sarver said that while he disagreed with parts of the report, he accepted the league’s decision and apologized for his “words and actions that offended our employees.” Suns guard Chris Paul was among the players who called for a tougher punishment than the fine and suspension the N.B.A. issued. As pressure mounted, Sarver announced that he would sell the Suns and the Mercury.The Suns have been among the best teams in the Western Conference for the past three seasons. Led by the star guard Devin Booker, they made the N.B.A. finals in 2021 and lost in six games to the Milwaukee Bucks. During the 2021-22 season, they set a franchise record for wins in a regular season with 64 but lost in the second round of the playoffs.This season, Phoenix had a 19-12 record as of Tuesday afternoon, tied for the most wins in the West.The Mercury, who share a practice facility with the Suns, have not missed the playoffs since 2012. They won the W.N.B.A. championship in 2014 and lost to Chicago in the W.N.B.A. finals in 2021. Last season, the Mercury went 15-21 as they coped with the absence of one of their stars, Brittney Griner.Griner was in custody in Russia from Feb. 17 until Dec. 8, when the U.S. State Department negotiated her release through a prisoner swap. She had been detained outside of Moscow when customs officials said they found hashish oil in her luggage. Griner was convicted on drug charges and began serving a nine-year term in a prison colony this November. The State Department said in May that she had been “wrongfully detained.”Upon returning to the United States, Griner was taken to a military hospital in Texas that helps soldiers and civilians dealing with trauma with their recoveries. Griner left to go home on Friday and rode home with three members of the Mercury organization who surprised her at the airport: Diana Taurasi, a fellow star player; Vince Kozar, the team president; and Jim Pitman, the general manager. More

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      An Open Letter to Welcome Home Brittney Griner

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      When Griner was imprisoned in Russia, letters were her main form of communication with home. Our columnist offers one last letter to mark her return to the United States.Welcome home, Brittney. At long last, welcome home.Like so many others, I wondered if this day would ever come.Now you are home and safe after nearly 10 months of brutal uncertainty and fear.Home and safe after isolating imprisonment in a Russia that has cast aside international norms.Home and safe after getting trapped in a web of geopolitics that grew thicker each day as the war in Ukraine dragged on. What you endured over the last 10 months is nearly unfathomable. As a Black, openly gay woman, you were in particular danger as a prisoner in a country with dangerous, retrograde views on race and sexuality.Home — and safe. What a turn of events.And yet, less than a day after your plane touched down at a Texas military base, controversy and conversation swirl.Some voices say the Biden administration should never have swapped a W.N.B.A. star in a one-for-one trade for Viktor Bout, a former Soviet Army lieutenant colonel described by the Justice Department as one of the world’s most prolific arms dealers.Others feel that you deserved no help, that you alone should have answered to Russian authorities for the mistake of having vape cartridges containing a trace of cannabis oil in your luggage, even though you’ve said you use the substance for pain management.The Release of Brittney GrinerThe American basketball star had been detained in Russia since February on charges of smuggling hashish oil into the country.Anxiety Turns to Relief: Brittney Griner’s supporters watched with dismay as her situation appeared to worsen over the summer. Now they are celebrating her release.The Russian Playbook: By detaining Ms. Griner, the Kremlin weaponized pain to get the United States to turn over a convicted arms dealer. Can the same tactic work in the war in Ukraine?A Test for Women’s Sports: The release was a victory for W.N.B.A. players and fans, who pushed furiously for it. But the athlete’s plight also highlighted gender inequities in sports.Then there are those hailing the White House for committing an act of mercy in pressing for your return.I’ll leave the political discussion to someone else. I want to focus on another part of the conversation. Already people are asking: What’s next?When will you return to the W.N.B.A., your Phoenix Mercury teammates, and the U.S. national team you helped lead to a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics?Roughly a decade ago, you became one of the first Black and openly lesbian headliners in women’s basketball. In your trademark soft-spoken manner, you pushed for racial and social change in America. So will you use this moment to become an even more powerful advocate?Will you do more, Brittney?“What’s next” is an understandable query, but I hope folks pump the brakes.Brittney, you shouldn’t feel you owe anything more than the gratitude you’ve already expressed to those who stood by your side and worked for your release.You have done more than enough. Don’t feel you have to do anything but heal.During this ordeal, we all saw the anguish and tears of your wife, Cherelle Griner. She, no surprise, has said the two of you will speak up for Americans the State Department has said were wrongly detained in other countries, including Paul Whelan, who has been imprisoned in Russia since 2018.Before all this happened, you might not have been well-known outside of sports circles. Now, more and more people have heard about how you were part of a wave of W.N.B.A. players who spoke up for racial injustice. More know that you have fought to help L.G.B.T.Q. people and those without homes in Phoenix.So it’s exciting to think about your next move and how you can use your platform for good.When I spoke to Victor Kozar, the Mercury’s president, this week, he mentioned the letters you exchanged over the last several months. “At all times, she was asking about other people,” said Kozar, your boss and friend. “Her concern was about other people. First and foremost, she asked how her teammates were doing, asking us to ensure we were taking care of her wife.”“That’s B.G.,” he added. “Even under this kind of duress, it was not about her. It was about others.”Sports stars offer us inspiration in many ways. Most commonly, it’s on fields and courts, through performances that allow us to see how we can be stretched to the limit.Brittney, you’ve inspired us in ways that matter more than slam dunks, blocked shots or championships.When you were freed, I thought about the timing. This week, Congress voted to cement federal recognition of same-sex and interracial marriages. (It’s a huge deal for me, too, since I have a nonbinary family member and my Black father and white mother married in 1954, when such unions were finally becoming legal in a smattering of states.)It’s sad that it took until 2022 to ensure such rights, but think about how far we’ve come. Ten or twenty years ago, if you’d been imprisoned in Russia, we probably would not have discussed race, sexual orientation and how those facts of your life put you in danger, this openly and often.“Brittney’s situation is a sign of progress, a sign that our nation has moved tremendously.” That’s how Victoria Kirby York, the National Black Justice Coalition public policy director, put it when she and I chatted Thursday. She noted the serious work that remains to be done, but added: “We have seen Americans move toward racial justice, and we are only going to see more of that happen, and a big part of it is people like Brittney Griner inviting us to see who they really are.”Rest with that, Brittney. May it be part of the support that helps you heal.My guess is that you’ll head back to basketball in due time — particularly when I think about how you grew up, with the game providing solace and healing for a young, Black, gay woman edging toward 7 feet tall in the American South of the 1990s and early 2000s.If history is any guide, you are likely to continue with advocacy and speaking out.Now your name and your story have a resonance few in the sports world can top. Who can better speak to our American shortcomings than someone scorned by many at home but also saved and spared by the intense efforts of the U.S. government?Then again, maybe you don’t do any of this. Brittney, don’t look back or feel bad if you want to ride into the sunset now, healing away from the public eye and maybe staying away for good.If that’s the decision, wonderful. Either way, we’ve got your back. More

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      With Brittney Griner’s Release, Anxiety Turns to Relief

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      HOUSTON — Brianna Turner was sleeping Thursday morning when her mother burst into her room to say that Brittney Griner, her teammate on the Phoenix Mercury, had been freed in a prisoner swap after nearly a year of captivity in Russia.“I was debating if I was still dreaming or not,” recalled Ms. Turner, who grew up in the Houston area and watched Ms. Griner play in high school there, long before their years together in professional basketball. “I’m just really excited for her to feel safe, feel secure, be with her wife and kind of just, like, recover.”The sudden release brought forth an outpouring of gratitude and relief on Thursday after 294 days of anxiety and anticipation, from the suburbs of Houston to the streets of Phoenix, where Ms. Griner had held court as the biggest star in the W.N.B.A.Because she represented so much to so many, her imprisonment had hit especially hard. Ms. Griner had found support in the L.G.B.T.Q. community, whose leaders feared for her safety as a Black lesbian imprisoned in Russia, and in her native Texas, where pastors and politicians worked to keep her from being left to serve a long, harsh prison term.To some, her initial arrest on drug charges had seemed like a momentary spasm in the tense diplomatic relationship between the United States and Russia, a minor political situation that would quickly be resolved.But as the weeks stretched to months, concern grew — particularly over the summer, “when there was no contact,” said Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of Houston, who had helped keep pressure on the Biden administration to negotiate for Ms. Griner’s release, including a rally in June in the city’s downtown.“We had no way of knowing if progress was being made or if we were losing ground,” said Bishop James E. Dixon, the president of the local chapter of the N.A.A.C.P., who worked with Ms. Jackson Lee. “The uncertainty was a burden to carry.”Ms. Griner was found guilty of trying to smuggle illegal drugs into Russia after the authorities found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her carry-on luggage on Feb. 17 as she traveled to Russia to play for a high-paying professional team during the W.N.B.A. off-season.Supporters of Ms. Griner watched with dismay as her situation worsened over the course of the year: from arrest, to courtroom appearances, to a sentence of nine years and then a transfer to a penal colony. “Each one of those moments, where you’re hopeful, but then hopes are dashed,” Bishop Dixon said.At a home just outside Houston listed as a former address for Ms. Griner, a basketball hoop lay rim-down in the backyard grass, visible from a neatly tended and quiet cul-de-sac. A sign on the front door suggested the long, arduous and public difficulties faced by her family: “No Media. No Trespassing. Just Pray. Thanks.”Ernest Alfaro, who lives two doors down, said he and his family had been praying for Ms. Griner and for her father, Ray, who he said still lived in the home. In a statement, members of the Griner family thanked President Biden and his administration and requested privacy “as we embark on this road to healing.”Since the time Ms. Griner disappeared into the Russian prison system, said Mr. Alfaro, a pastor at a local church, “We started praying for her family.”Ms. Turner, Ms. Griner’s teammate, said she had corresponded by letter with Ms. Griner during her confinement but had not heard from her since mid-October, when she was moved to the penal colony.“In the beginning, I felt denial, and then I was confused, and then I was like, ‘How is this possible?’” Ms. Turner said. “There’s so many millions of people that live in America, and I happen to know one of the few who are detained in Russia. Even today has felt surreal.”Vince Kozar, the president of the Mercury, had also been exchanging letters with Ms. Griner. The Mercury had tried to keep her plight in the public eye during her imprisonment as a way of reminding the Biden administration how many people wanted her home, Mr. Kozar said.So too did Chris Mosier, a pathbreaking transgender endurance athlete who has competed for the U.S. internationally.A Chicago resident, Mr. Mosier showed up at every Chicago Sky game with signs or T-shirts reminding people about Ms. Griner. He spoke about her whenever given the opportunity: at conferences around the world and across his social media accounts.“As an athlete, I feel really passionately about this, because this could have happened to any of us,” he said.And so on Thursday the tension of her captivity gave way to a kind of national exhalation.Carly Givens, a Phoenix Mercury fan, at a mural featuring Brittney Griner at the Footprint Center in Phoenix on Thursday.Mark Henle/The Arizona Republic, via USA Today NetworkOutside the Footprint Center in Phoenix, home to Ms. Griner’s team, Danae McKnight wore a “We Are B.G.” T-shirt and said she had felt she had to come to the stadium after hearing the news. “So I went, got a beer, celebrated a little bit — it just felt right,” she said.The imprisonment felt to Ms. McKnight and her wife as though “our friend or our loved one was locked up,” she said.Ms. Jackson Lee said that while Ms. Griner was initially stopping at a military base in San Antonio on Friday, it was not clear where she would go after that. “We’re just ecstatic for her wife, for her mother and father,” she said.Ms. Turner, her teammate on the Mercury, said that she did not know when she would speak to or see Ms. Griner — “I don’t even know if she has the same phone number,” she said — but that when they reunited, she would ask where she felt like eating. They bond over food, she said, and when playing on the road, they often visit the cookie chain Crumbl.“Right now, she should prioritize her recovery and adjusting to being back home,” Ms. Turner said.Kendra Venzant, the coach of the Lady Cougars basketball team at Chester W. Nimitz High School, where Ms. Griner once played, learned of her release with a constant pinging and ringing on her cellphone as friends and relatives called and texted on Thursday.The two women had been teammates at the high school outside Houston — Ms. Venzant the senior point guard, Ms. Griner the towering freshman — and Ms. Griner had returned to the school as recently as last year to talk to the next generation of young players.“I immediately just thanked God, because you never know the time or the hour,” Ms. Venzant said, standing in her office before practice on Thursday. “That situation definitely touched my heart and the players, because I speak of Brittney Griner a lot.”The news of her release provided a burst of inspiration to the young players who had watched Ms. Griner put their school on the girls’ basketball map.“To know that she’s safe at home was definitely a blessing,” she said. “Nothing was going to steal my joy today.”Edgar Sandoval More

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      Robert Sarver to Sell Phoenix Suns and Mercury Teams Amid Scandal

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      Robert Sarver, the majority owner of the N.B.A. and W.N.B.A. teams in Phoenix, had been fined $10 million and suspended for one year for using racist slurs and mistreating employees for years.Bowing to what he called an “unforgiving climate,” Robert Sarver said Wednesday that he planned to sell the Phoenix Suns and Mercury amid public pressure after an N.B.A. investigation found that he had mistreated team employees for years.It was a swift turnabout for Sarver, who seemed determined to hold onto his stakes in both basketball franchises after the N.B.A. last week fined him $10 million and suspended him from team operations for one year. According to the investigation’s report, Sarver had engaged in more than a decade of workplace misconduct, including using racial slurs, making sexual remarks and treating women inequitably.But following the punitive measures, Sarver — and the N.B.A. — faced mounting public pressure to levy a harsher punishment for behavior N.B.A. Commissioner Adam Silver had described as “beyond the pale.”In a statement Wednesday, Sarver said his one-year suspension would have given him time to “make amends and remove my personal controversy” from the teams that he owns.“But in our current unforgiving climate,” he said, “it has become painfully clear that that is no longer possible — that whatever good I have done, or could still do, is outweighed by things I have said in the past.”In separate statements, Silver and Suns Legacy Partners L.L.C., the ownership group of the Suns and Mercury, said Sarver’s decision was the best choice for the organization and the community.“We also know that today’s news does not change the work that remains in front of us,” the ownership group said, adding: “We acknowledge the courage of the people who came forward in this process to tell their stories and apologize to those hurt.”An N.B.A. spokesman declined to comment when asked whether Silver had pushed Sarver to sell the teams. Last week, Silver defended the fine and suspension issued to Sarver as fair punishment and said he had not asked him to voluntarily sell the teams. The N.B.A.’s board of governors also had not discussed removing him as an owner, he said. Silver could have suspended Sarver for longer than one year, but $10 million was the most he could fine him.The N.B.A. announced its penalties Sept. 13 after releasing a 43-page public report by the law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, which conducted a nearly yearlong investigation into Sarver’s conduct in his 18 years with the basketball teams. The N.B.A. began its investigation in response to a November 2021 article by ESPN about accusations of mistreatment against Sarver. The law firm said its investigators interviewed more than 100 individuals who witnessed behavior that “violated applicable standards.”Sarver, according to the report, made crude jokes, used “the N-word” on at least five occasions, shared inappropriate text messages and photos, and belittled employees. During the investigation, Sarver sought to defend himself by citing his contributions to social and racial justice causes and his support of women’s basketball.What to Know: Robert Sarver Misconduct CaseCard 1 of 7A suspension and a fine. More