Brittney Griner's wife says the U.S. Embassy did not make it easy for them to talk on the phone

Brittney Griner could not talk to her wife on their fourth wedding anniversary for the first time in months because no one was available at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow to set up a phone call between them, Griner's wife said Monday.

Cherelle Griner told the Associated Press that the call had been set up two weeks before. Since Brittney Griner, one of the best players in the WNBA, was arrested on drug charges at an airport near Moscow in February, they have not talked to each other directly.

"I was very sad. I felt bad. "I was done, I was fed up," Cherelle Griner said about how she felt after the talk with her wife did not happen. She told the AP that at first she thought Russian officials had messed with the call, but that Brittney Griner's lawyers told her on Monday that the mistake was made in her own country.

Lawyers say that Brittney Griner tried to call her wife 11 times using a number she was given at the embassy that was supposed to connect her to Cherelle Griner in Phoenix. Cherelle Griner told the AP that the call was scheduled for a Saturday, when there was no one at the embassy to make the connection.

Griner said, "I think it is wrong, and I do not trust our government right now." "If I can not trust you to answer a call on a Saturday when you are not at work, how can I trust you to try to get my wife to come home? Because that is much harder than getting a Saturday call."

Through the AP, the State Department said they were sorry that "a logistical error" meant Brittney Griner could not talk to her wife.

The agent for Brittney Griner, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, wrote on Twitter, "Can you imagine the heartbreak?" "I had not heard her voice in 123 days. Still waiting for a call. The phone finally rings, but it just keeps ringing.

"Every time I think about it, my heart breaks into pieces. But that is nothing compared to what BG and her family are going through."

The WNBA players union said Monday that it was "crushed" that Brittney Griner did not get to talk to her wife when she had the chance. In a tweet that mentioned President Biden, the union asked him to meet with Cherelle Griner and get the 31-year-old center back "so that they can talk to each other in person."

Biden and the first lady, Jill Biden, celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary this past weekend in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The union said it was "glad" that they were able to do so and added, "Whether you have been married for 4 years or 45 years, anniversaries are a big deal."

Cherelle Griner told the Associated Press that she was still hoping to meet with the president, but that it was "starting to feel like a no."

Last month, the U.S. government said that Brittney Griner was being "wrongfully detained" by Russia and promised to "keep trying to help her in the right way." Griner was arrested in February for what Russian authorities said was an illegal attempt to bring hashish oil vape cartridges into the country after a flight from New York. This happened as tensions with the U.S. grew ahead of the invasion of Ukraine at the time.

In May, Cherelle Griner, who had just finished law school, called her wife "a political pawn" and said she had talked to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

She said, "I was glad for the call." "You say she is the most important thing, but I want to see proof. I feel like to see it would be me seeing BG on U.S. soil."

At the time, a Russian court said that Griner would have to stay in jail until mid-June until her trial. Her detention has been extended again, this time until July 2.

Griner plays for the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, which she helped win the league championship with in 2014. She also plays for a team in the Russian Premier League. The season for UMMC Ekaterinburg ended in April, about a week before the 2022 season for the WNBA began.

The WNBA then said that the initials of Griner, a seven-time all-star and two-time U.S. Olympic gold medalist, and her jersey number, 42, would be shown on the sidelines of all 12 of its teams' courts. During warmups, Mercury players have worn shirts that say "We are BG." Members of the Boston Celtics wore shirts with the same message during the NBA Finals.

This month, Boston's Jaylen Brown said, "As a group, we wanted to come out and show our support for Brittney Griner." "She is been there for a long time, and we think it is time for her to come home."

Cherelle Griner said on Monday that the planned phone call was "such a big deal" because it would have been the first time she could really tell if her daughter was okay. She said that since Brittney Griner was first detained, she has had to rely on what other people who have talked to her have told her.

Cherelle Griner said, "This would have been the first time I would have been able to hear her in real time and really know if she is okay or if she is about to die in a few seconds."