Basketball Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman is putting on his diplomatic shades in an attempt to facilitate the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner who is currently serving a nine-year sentence in a Russian prison.
“I got permission to go to Russia to help that girl,” Rodman said to NBC. “I’m trying to go this week.”
Rodman hopes his prior meeting with Vladimir Putin will set the stage for an amicable prisoner exchange with the U.S. Rodman called the Russian president ‘cool’ after their meeting in 2014.
“I know Putin too well,” Rodman said of his relationship with the Russian president, according to NBC.
Earlier this month, a Russian court sentenced Griner to nine years in prison after she was found guilty of drug trafficking and possession. Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, revealed the U.S. has been working on a plan for her release.
It is rumored a high-profile prisoner swap involving Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, may be in the works.
The U.S. State Department has issued a travel advisory discouraging Americans from visiting Russia - as they did in 2013 when Rodman threw caution into the wind to visit North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jung-un to help train the North Korean basketball team.
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