An atypical intermediary. Former NBA star Dennis Rodman wants to travel to Russia to work for the release of basketball player Brittney Griner, NBC News revealed on Sunday.
According to the channel, Dennis Rodman hopes to fly this week to Russia to help his compatriot, sentenced to nine years in prison by a Russian court for cannabis trafficking. “I got permission to go to Russia to help this girl. I’m trying to go there this week, ”he said, without giving further details.
In a statement, a senior official in Joe Biden’s government expressed concern that “anything that does not enter into the pursuit of negotiation through the established channel is likely to complicate and impede release efforts.”
A regular of authoritarian heads of state
At 61, the five-time NBA champion is known for his geopolitical stunts. Close to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and he has visited the country several times. He was also present in Singapore in 2018, during the summit between Kim Jong-un and former US President Donald Trump. A few years earlier, after meeting Vladimir Putin in 2014 in Moscow, Dennis Rodman called him a “really cool” man.
Considered one of the best basketball players in the world, Brittney Griner, 31, was arrested in February in Moscow in possession of a vaporizer containing cannabis-based liquid. Since his arrest, Moscow and Washington have been discussing a possible prisoner exchange, despite tensions linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
