Basketball Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman is going to Russia. He said he’s going to help free Brittney Griner.
The five-time NBA champion and part-time goodwill ambassador told NBC News over the weekend he got permission to go to Russia and “help that girl.”
Griner was arrested in February and sentenced to nine years in a Russian work camp for drug charges.
The U.S. State Department called the WNBA star’s trial a sham and classified her as wrongfully detained.
Rodman said he wants to travel to Russia this week and speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin to try and get Griner home.
The Biden Administration said Rodman is likely to do more harm than good and that the U.S. already made a significant offer to Russia to swap Griner and another American, Paul Whelan, for a Russian arms dealer.
Rodman has a history of traveling to nations that have strained diplomatic relations with the U.S.
He’s been to North Korea multiple times and met with its leader, Kim Jong Un. Rodman took credit for the release of Kenneth Bae from North Korea in 2014 and gave an emotional interview to CNN while taking partial credit for a meeting between Un and former President Donald Trump in 2018.
The State Department is still strongly discouraging any American citizen from visiting Russia.
