Several reports have confirmed that former NBA star Dennis Rodman is planning a trip to Russia to seek the release of imprisoned WNBA player Brittney Griner.
The reports quoted Rodman as saying that he was hoping to fly to Russia this week to help basketball player Griner, who was sentenced to nine years in prison by a Moscow court earlier this month on a drug charge.
Rodman said, “I got permission to go to Russia to help that girl. I am trying to go this week.”
Meanwhile, Rodman has shared no extra details, who was speaking at a restaurant in Washington where he was taking part in a sports apparel convention.
As per the statement released by one of the senior officials of U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration, “It is public information that the Administration has made a significant offer to the Russians and anything other than negotiating further via the established channel is likely to complicate and hinder release efforts.”
As per recent media reports, Rodman has formed a good friendship with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un over the past decade, and has made several trips to the reclusive state. He has also travelled to Singapore in 2018 when Kim famously met the former president of the United States, Donald Trump.
Moreover, former NBA star Rodman has also spoken approvingly of President of Russia Vladimir Putin in the past. Back in 2014, he has called Putin as “actually cool” after meeting the Russian leader in Moscow.
Two-time Olympic basketball gold medalist and Women’s NBA champion Griner was arrested at a Moscow airport in February for possessing vape cartridges with a small amount of cannabis oil.
The 31-year-old, who was in Russia to play for the professional Yekaterinburg team during her off-season from the Phoenix Mercury, was charged with smuggling narcotics and was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony in early August.
