Retired U.S. basketball star Dennis Rodman is surrounded by journalists upon his arrival from Pyongyang at Beijing Capital International Airport on Jan. 13, 2014
Controversial basketball icon Dennis Rodman apologized for not doing more to help fellow American Kenneth Bae during his recent foray into North Korea, where he helped organize a basketball game that doubled as a cross-cultural exchange and birthday celebration for the country’s despot Kim Jong Un.
U.S. missionary Bae has been behind bars in the Hermit Kingdom for more than a year for “antistate crimes” and is reportedly in poor health.
“It’s not my fault. I’m sorry. I just want to do some good stuff, that’s all I want to do,” said an emotional Rodman after arriving in Beijing on Monday, according to AP.
During a drunken interview on CNN, Rodman appeared to defend the communist regime’s decision to lock up Bae and went on to say he loved the country’s leader Kim.
Rodman later admitted in a statement that he had been drinking in order to combat stress before being interviewed by the network’s Chris Cuomo. The former NBA star appears to enjoy warm relations with Kim and has traveled to North Korea on four different occasions in the past year.
[AP]