Former professional boxer Roy Jones Jr has made clear that he would be willing to risk his life to help WNBA star Brittney Griner return to the United States.
Griner was arrested by the Russian authorities for allegedly attempting to bring hash oil into the country, in an incident that took place at an airport near Moscow.
“Would I put my life on the line, take a chance to go to Russia to exchange prisoners? Yes, I would,” Jones Jr told TMZ Sports.
“Because if [Brittney] was my daughter, I would want somebody to do the same thing for me.”
Prisoner exchange
Born in Florida, Jones Jr was granted Russian citizenship back in 2015 with the help of president Vladimir Putin.
The former boxer went on to stress that his connections could help bring Griner back to the United States.
“I had a friend, a couple of my friends that I knew, I called and I asked him ‘Is there any way we can try to facilitate?’ because I don’t do politics,” Jones Jr added.
“I’m a sports figure and they love me as a sports figure. ‘Is there any way we can use my sports influence to possibly can get anything arranged to help get Brittney home?’
“My friend called and he called me back and he said, ‘yes, they said they’d be willing to do a prisoner exchange.’
“I said, ‘Well it’s probably rough because the prisoner exchange is probably a real prisoner.’
“She’s not necessarily a person that’s a real prisoner but I’m sure that maybe the U.S. will be understanding of this and get her back home because I’d be terrified if my kid was stuck in a foreign country in jail, you know?
“One of my guys is like… he’s the right-hand man to the office of Mr. Putin, so he’s high up on the political scheme.
“He’s a reporter and he usually does most of the reporting for Mr. Putin so he can go make direct contact with whoever necessary to help me.”
Marca
