(Audacy) Former Bulls star Dennis Rodman has now gotten involved in the saga in which WNBA star Brittney Griner is imprisoned in Russa.
Rodman is planning to visit Russia, he told NBC News on Saturday, to seek the release of Griner, who was recently sentenced to nine years in prison on drug charges.
“I got permission to go to Russia to help that girl,” Rodman said. “I’m trying to go this week.”
Rodman — who was in Washington D.C. for a sneaker convention — doesn't actually need special permission from the United States to enter Russia, though he does need a visa from Moscow, NBC News reported. The U.S. State Department is strongly discouraging travel to Russia for American citizens.
While it's also unclear exactly what kind of role or influence Rodman could have, it isn't the first time he’s been involved in international affairs. He has taken credit for the release of American Kenneth Bae from North Korea, pointing to his cushy relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, whom he has visited multiple times.
Rodman doesn't necessarily have the same relationship with Russian president Vladimir Putin, although he did call him “cool” after a trip to Moscow in 2014.
“I know Putin well,” Rodman told NBC.
The U.S. State Department recognizes Griner as being “wrongfully detained,” and a former U.S. ambassador to the UN told the Associated Press in July that he was optimistic the U.S. could bring Griner home via a prisoner swap.
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