Dennis Rodman Will Go To Russia To Help Brittney Griner - The WNBA Player Was Sentenced Nine Years In Prison
A former NBA player, Dennis Rodman will go to Russia to help Brittney Griner and promised to try to get WNBA star Brittney Griner out of jail.
“„He told NBC News on August 20 at a restaurant in Washington, D.C., "I got permission to go to Russia to help that girl. This week, I'm trying to go."
Griner was arrested in February at Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport and charged with drug possession.
At the beginning of this month, she was given a nine-year prison sentence.
A Russian court found the athlete guilty of both having drugs and smuggling them.
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They also found that she did the crime on purpose.
Since then, her lawyer has filed a new case.
Bill Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, recently told the Associated Press that he was optimistic about the chances of a prisoner swap with Russia that would bring Griner and another jailed American, Paul Whelan, back to the U.S.
Why Dennis Rodman Will Go To Russia To Help Brittney Griner?
Rodman says he's going to Russia to push for Griner's release | NewsNation Prime
“„Rodman said, "I know Putin too well."
Even though the U.S. has put sanctions on Russia and put out a travel advisory since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Rodman does not need permission from the U.S. to go to Russia.
He only needs a Russian visa.
People asked the U.S. State Department for a comment, but they didn't answer right away.
Over the years, Rodman has become something of an unofficial diplomat, making friends with foreign leaders who don't get along well with the U.S.
The former member of the Chicago Bulls has called North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un a friend and a "very good guy."
He even helped get American prisoner Kenneth Bae released in 2014.
During a trip to Singapore in 2018, he also met with Kim and former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Griner was held at the Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow in February 2022, just a few days before Russia attacked Ukraine.
She was charged with drug smuggling because she had cannabis oil in vape cartridges.
On July 27, Griner said at the trial that she still didn't know how the cartridges got into her bag.
In 2014, Rodman met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He said Putin is a "cool guy," but their meeting was all about sports.
“„"They don't know anything about basketball or football in the United States. Rodman told Fox Business, "I went over there to represent America in basketball. I'm not a politician; I'm just a basketball ambassador. All done."
Rodman's latest comments come after Griner was arrested in Russia in February for allegedly having hash oil in her luggage and trying to bring it into the country illegally.
Griner said in court last month before she was sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison, that she "never meant to break the law" and never meant to pack the cannabis oil in the first place.
Griner's imprisonment has caused a national outcry for her release, and President Joe Biden has even talked about the possibility of trading a Russian prisoner in the U.S. for Griner and another American prisoner.
In the meantime, her lawyers plan to appeal the decision.
Conclusion
Dennis Rodman, a former NBA star, is said to be going to Russia to help get Brittney Griner, a WNBA player who was recently sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison for having cannabis oil cartridges, out of jail.
Griner has been called "wrongfully detained," and the Biden administration has been under pressure to get her released.
Rodman has been involved in US-North Korea talks before.
On Saturday, he told NBC News that he got permission to go to Russia and is "trying to go this week."
The U.S. State Department has issued a "do not travel" advisory for Russia.
This also tells Americans who are already there to leave right away.