Above: American basketball players led by former National Basketball Association star Dennis Rodman trained with young North Koreans on Tuesday.
Warning: This article contains language that some readers may find offensive
Former basketball star Dennis Rodman may be trying to build a friendship between the U.S. and North Korea through sport, but he certainly wasn’t making pals with a U.S. news anchor on Tuesday.
Rodman and his team of former NBA players are in the isolated nation on a mission dubbed “basketball diplomacy.”
The 52-year-old Hall of Fame player has developed a “friendship” with North Korea‘s Kim Jong-un — the third-generation Supreme Leader of the repressive regime.
In an exclusive appearance on CNN‘s morning show New Day, Rodman had a heated face-off with host Chris Cuomo when asked to speak about the imprisonment of American citizen Kenneth Bae.
READ MORE: Dennis Rodman wants to bring basketball diplomacy to North Korea
But when discussing Bae or whether Rodman should use the opportunity speak to Kim about human rights abuses, Rodman went off on a defensive tirade.
“If you understand what Kenneth Bae did. Do you understand what he did in this country,” he asked, raising his voice at Cuomo and pointing his finger at the camera.
“You tell me, you tell me why has he been held captive,” Rodman demanded. Cuomo responded that North Korea has not explained why Bae had been charged.
Bae has been detained in DPRK since November 2012. The South Korean-born, U.S. citizen operated tours to North Korea out of China.
According to the website FreeKenNow.com, he was arrested in the Rason Special Economic Zone while leading a group of tourists.
He was sentenced on May 2, 2013 to 15 years of hard labour for committing hostile acts against the North Korean government, the New York Times reported. North Korea said the 44-year-old was indicted on charges of trying to overthrow the government.
Rodman never substantiated his comment about what Bae did in North Korea, but went on to explain how the 10-man team left their “damn families” behind over the holidays to take part in the mission.
“I don’t give a rat’s a** what the hell you think. I’m saying to you, look at these guys here, look at them,” he yelled at Cuomo. “They dared to do one thing, they came here.”
READ MORE: Rodman met North Korean leader again, but no release of jailed American seen (Sept. 7)
Rodman’s knowledge of North Korea and North Korean affairs has often been called into question and he was criticized when he made his first trip to North Korea last February, taking in a Harlem Globetrotters exhibition game in Pyongyang and dining with Kim.
“The marshal (as he refers to Kim) is actually trying to change this country in a great way,” Rodman recently told The Associated Press.
North Korea has one of the worst human rights records in the world, the United Nations estimated more than 10 per cent of the population “are in need of regular food assistance” and the country has frequently rattled its nuclear sabre at the U.S. and South Korea, conducting a nuclear weapons test last February — just weeks before Rodman arrived. Recent reports suggest the country may be preparing to conduct another test in the near future.
Rodman’s squad will play against a team of North Koreans on Wednesday, which is believed to be Kim’s birthday.
READ MORE: Rodman says ex-NBA squad’s game is ‘birthday present’ for Kim Jong Un
Halifax Rainmen coach Craig Hodges was also due to accompany the team to Pyongyang, but his spokesperson confirmed to Global News he was not able to and was set to return to Halifax Tuesday afternoon.
Rodman grumbled and growled inaudibly and waved an unlit cigar around through much of the interview, handing much of the logical side of the debate over the visit to former New York Knicks player Charles D. Smith.
In a much more level-headed tone, Smith said he and the other players did not expect the amount of negative press the trip would attract and defended the effort.
“We’re all Americans. We’re here to do goodwill and, again, we’re apologetic,” Smith said. “We did not know that it was going to take this type of negative spin, on what we’re doing, because we’re not politicians, we’re not ambassadors. We’re here to do what we’ve been doing most of our lives.”
Rodman said the trip is not about him and he’s trying to “open the door a little bit” and went on to argue why sports could serve as a diplomatic way to build relations.
“No one ever, ever asks anyone in the world why we have Olympics. And we have struggles around the world… and when the Olympics come around there’s no problems. It’s all about the game. People love to do one thing — sports.”
*With files from The Associated Press
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