NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman is reversing course and will not travel to Russia to seek the release of imprisoned WNBA star Brittney Griner.
Rodman, who has a history of conducting informal diplomacy with North Korea on the United States’s behalf, is less familiar with Russian negotiations. Yet in his previous travels to Russia, Rodman has called Russian President Vladimir Putin “cool.”
A LIZ CHENEY PRESIDENTIAL RUN COULD SWING ELECTION IN TRUMP’S FAVOR: POLL
Over the weekend, Rodman said he “got permission to go to Russia to help that girl,” referring to Griner. In speaking with NBC, Rodman said he would go this week.
However, the NBA superstar will no longer make the trip after the U.S. government cautioned Rodman not to interfere in negotiations with Russia concerning the Griner case, according to multiple reports.
U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price told ABC News on Monday that if Rodman did travel to Russia, then “he would not be traveling on behalf of the U.S. government.”
“We believe that anything other than negotiating further through the established channel is likely to complicate and hinder those release efforts,” Price added.
A senior Biden administration official told the Washington Examiner over the weekend: “It is public information that the administration has made a significant offer to the Russians, and anything other than negotiating further through the established channel is likely to complicate and hinder release efforts.”
Griner, 31, was found guilty earlier this month of smuggling drugs into Russia and was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony. The basketball star was initially arrested on Feb. 17 for allegedly transporting cannabis oil in her bag, which is illegal in Russia.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The State Department has maintained Griner was wrongfully detained, accusing the Kremlin of holding her prisoner as a political pawn amid Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine. Russian officials have denied this, claiming a verdict had to be made in her case before discussing a prisoner exchange.
A State Department travel advisory remains in effect, warning Americans not to visit the country.
