Dennis Rodman Plans to Head to Russia to Petition for the Release of Brittney Griner
Jose Nino
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Will Dennis Rodman inadvertently become America’s premier diplomat?
Former NBA forward and five-time NBA champion Dennis Rodman announced earlier this week that he received “permission” to go to Russia and petition for the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner.
The Phoenix Mercury player was originally arrested for possessing less than a gram of hashish oil and later sentenced to 9 years in Russian prison for this violation.
Previously, Rodman gained notoriety for forging a relationship with North Korean strongman Kim Jong-un in order to help release Christian missionary Kenneth Bae.
Rodman would not specify who granted him permission to travel to Russia. As Kyle Anzalone and Will Porter noted that “Rodman would not technically need authorization from the White House to travel to Russia, but Moscow would need to provide him a visa to enter the country. “
Rodman said to NBC during an interview, “I got permission to go to Russia to help that girl. I’m trying to go this week.”
Diplomatic contact between Russia and the US has been scant since Russia kicked off its special military operation on February 24. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov have maintained little contact though they did talk about a potential prisoner swap involving Griner three weeks ago.
Anzalone and Porter noted that despite Rodman not possessing official diplomatic credentials, he seems to have picked up the skill on the fly. Following the liberation of Kenneth Bae from the North Korean regime’s grasp, the Christian missionary said, “I thank Dennis Rodman for being a catalyst for my release.”
The NBA defensive specialist also made an appearance at the 2018 Singapore summit that featured President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un.
Rodman actually met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow back in 2014., where he expressed kind words for the Russian President. Rodman said the following about Putin:
“You know, he’s actually cool. I’m not going to say — I’m not talking about politics. I ain’t about politics … this was my first time meeting him. He just walked in, shook my hand and left with all his people. I just stayed there and had a good time at his restaurant.”
At this point, having Rodman in the US diplomatic corps would be a significant upgrade over the current political class. Most government officials, especially those in departments dealing with foreign policy, are in a complete ideological trance that prevents them from thinking outside of the neoliberal/neoconservative ideological consensus.
It’s high time for new blood in foreign policy decision-making circles. Obviously, Dennis Rodman is not an ideal alternative for the present diplomatic corps. However, he is easily better than the current crop of leaders who function as a bunch of lifeless robots that strive to antagonize countries who don’t bow down to the globalist American enterprise.
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