NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman said on August 21st that he plans to go to Russia to try to help get WNBA star Brittney Griner released. She’s been held since February and was sentenced earlier this month to nine years in prison for drug possession.
Rodman, who’s visited North Korea several times, including for leader Kim Jong Un‘s birthday, and who called Russian President Vladimir Putin “cool” in 2014, told NBC News, “I got permission to go to Russia to help that girl. I’m trying to go this week.” He also said, “I know Putin too well.”
State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters Monday (August 21st), “We put forward a substantial proposal to Russia to seek the freedom of [detained American] Paul Whelan or Brittney Griner. We believe that anything other than negotiating further through the established channel is likely to complicate and hinder those release efforts.”
Price also stressed that if Rodman does go to Russia, he wouldn’t be doing so on behalf of the U.S. government, and said the administration has strongly advised U.S. citizens against traveling to Russia, including because of the threat of wrongful detention.
