Former NBA star Dennis Rodman plans to travel to Russia to help negotiate the release of WNBA champion Brittney Griner, NBC News reported.
Griner remains wrongfully detained, according to the U.S. government, and was sentenced earlier this month to nine years in prison on alleged drug charges. Her team has already appealed while U.S. and Russian diplomats discuss potential prison exchanges.
“I got permission to go to Russia to help that girl,” Rodman told NBC News at a restaurant in D.C. “I’m trying to go this week.”
There is no clarity where or who Rodman “got permission” from to work on the case. “That girl” he refers to is one of the most recognizable and widely known WNBA and Team USA superstars.
Griner, a 6-foot-9 center, is one of 11 women to win an Olympic gold medal, NCAA championship, FIBA World Cup gold medal and a WNBA championship. She was a leading MVP candidate in 2021 during the Phoenix Mercury’s run to the WNBA Finals and a certain future Hall of Famer.
Griner has also won EuroLeague championships overseas with UMMC Ekaterinburg, where she was playing this WNBA offseason with fellow American WNBA players Courtney Vandersloot, Allie Quigley and Breanna Stewart on the roster.
Dennis Rodman’s post-retirement life as ‘basketball ambassador’
Rodman, who was in town for a sneaker convention, has been involved in informal diplomacy with international leaders who have strained relationships with the U.S. government. It is arguably what the 62-year-old is most known for following his Hall of Fame NBA career. He won five NBA championships and led the league in rebounding seven of his 14 seasons.
He developed a relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and made multiple visits to the country, including once in June 2018 during former President Donald Trump’s summit with Kim. The White House denied he had any formal role.
His January 2014 visit to the country arguably drew the most attention and criticism. He sang “Happy Birthday” to Jong Un, a huge Chicago Bulls fan, on a basketball court and appeared to bow down to him, per ABC News. He also appeared to defend the country’s imprisonment of Kenneth Bae, an American missionary. Rodman later apologized and wrote a letter to Kim begging for Bae’s release. He was released later that week after a two-year detainment.
“I thank Dennis Rodman for being a catalyst for my release,” Bae said in an interview with CNN in May 2016. “He brought attention to my plight.”
Rodman has also called Russian president Vladimir Putin “cool” following a trip to Moscow in 2014. He went on Putin’s request. At the time, Rodman insisted he was “not a politician, I’m just a basketball ambassador. That’s it.”
As for potentially using his relationship to help Griner, Rodman told NBC News, “I know Putin too well.” There is currently a travel advisory of “do not travel to Russia” set by the U.S. government for American citizens. It does not prevent visits and all Rodman will need is a visa from Moscow.
Where does Brittney Griner’s drug case stand?
Griner has been detained since Feb. 17 when Russia said officials allegedly found vape cartridges containing hashish oil, which is illegal there. It was one week before Putin invaded Ukraine.
She pleaded guilty on charges of “large-scale transportation of drugs” and possession charges, even though prosecutors said she brought less than a gram of cannabis oil. A judge rejected her plea for leniency for an “honest mistake” and sentenced her to nine years, one short of the 10-year maximum. Russian criminal courts have a reported conviction rate of 99%. Her team appealed, a process that could take three months.
Russian officials have insisted that they wouldn’t consider a prisoner exchange, which could include detained American Paul Whelan, until after Griner was tried and sentence, in what experts say is an attempt to make it look like Griner was receiving a fair trial. Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters that Putin is “ready to discuss this issue” after the trial ended, but the country won’t tolerate public negotiations.
Bill Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, is also involved in the case and working to secure Griner and Whelan’s release. After serving a second term as New Mexico’s governor, he started a nonprofit organization in 2011 that helps with global conflict resolution and prisoner release. He has helped free American prisoners in the past.
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