By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON (AA) - The US State Department has attempted to discourage former NBA champion Dennis Rodman from pursuing plans to travel to Russia to seek the release of imprisoned American and WNBA star Brittney Griner.
Rodman told NBC News on Saturday that he hoped to fly to Russia this week as part of an informal diplomacy effort to secure Griner's freedom. Griner has been held in Russia since February and has been sentenced to nine years in prison on drug charges.
"I got permission to go to Russia to help that girl," Rodman told NBC.
He did not specify from whom he received permission but State Department spokesman Ned Price maintained on Monday that any travel he undertakes will not be on behalf of the US government.
"We put forward a substantial proposal to Russia to seek the freedom of Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner," Price told reporters, referring to ongoing bilateral efforts with Russia to secure Griner's release. "We believe that anything other than negotiating further through the established channel is likely to complicate and hinder those release efforts."
Rodman previously worked on backchannel diplomacy with North Korea and has developed a relationship with that country's leader, Kim Jong Un. Rodman's ties with Kim were also evident in 2018 when he was on the sidelines of the North Korean leader's sit-down with former President Donald Trump in Singapore.
His overture to visit Russia comes as Washington continues to pursue a swap deal it put forward to Moscow seeking Griner's release as well as that of fellow American national Paul Whelan, who has been held in Russia since 2018 on espionage charges.
Griner, 31, was arrested in February at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport after authorities said they found cannabis oil in her possession. She pleaded guilty in July to drug charges but has maintained she used medicinal cannabis to treat pain and denied intending to violate Russian law.
The US has not offered details about its proposal but multiple media reports indicated the Biden administration offered to swap convicted Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout for the two Americans.
Bout is serving a 25-year sentence and the Justice Department has voiced opposition to the potential exchange, according to CNN.