After former NBA player Dennis Rodman made a visit to North Korea last week, Secretary of State John F. Kerry says he should keep his talent on the court.
“Dennis Rodman was a great basketball player,” Mr. Kerry said during an interview slated to air Tuesday on NBC News. “And as a diplomat, he is a great basketball player. And that’s where we’ll leave it.”
Mr. Rodman, the former Chicago Bulls and the Detroit Pistons star known for his outrageous behavior, over-the-top outfits and rebounding skills, visited North Korea last week for a basketball exhibition with the Harlem Globetrotters.
He toured Pyongyang and had dinner with 28-year-old North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un, whom he called “my friend” in a bizarre interview with NBC’s “Today Show.” He also said Mr. Kim told him to tell President Obama to “call him.”
Mr. Rodman did not back down from the comments when pressed about whether he was familiar with the North Korean government’s reputation for oppressing and starving it’s own people. Instead, he said that U.S. leaders have also done terrible things.
He then appeared to compare the actions of the Kim regime to former President Clinton’s liaison with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
