Bill Richardson, who helped secure Brittney Griner's release, dies - ESPN

Bill Richardson, a two-term Democratic governor of New Mexico and a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who dedicated his post-political career to working to free Americans detained overseas, including for the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner, has died. He was 75.

The Richardson Center for Global Engagement, which he founded and led, said in a statement Saturday that he died in his sleep at his home in Chatham, Massachusetts.

«He lived his entire life in the service of others — including both his time in government and his subsequent career helping to free people held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad,» said Mickey Bergman, the center's vice president. «There was no person that Gov. Richardson would not speak with if it held the promise of returning a person to freedom. The world has lost a champion for those held unjustly abroad and I have lost a mentor and a dear friend.»

Along with U.S. officials, Griner's release from a Russian prison in December followed months of backchannel negotiations involving Richardson and Bergman. The men made multiple trips abroad to discuss swap scenarios with Russian contacts.

The Griner family had thanked Richardson and Bergman at the time for their part in helping to secure Griner's freedom.

Before his election in 2002 as governor, Richardson was U.N. ambassador and energy secretary under President Bill Clinton and served 14 years as a congressman representing northern New Mexico.

Richardson also traveled the globe as an unofficial diplomatic troubleshooter, negotiating the release of hostages and American servicemen from North Korea, Iraq, Cuba and Sudan. He bargained with a who's who of America's adversaries, including Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. It was a role that