Former NBA star Dennis Rodman has apologised for his televised outburst about a US missionary detained in North Korea, explaining that he had been stressed and drinking at the time.
Rodman was roundly criticised for his angry tirade in an interview with CNN, in which he appeared to suggest that Christian missionary, Kenneth Bae, had merited the prison sentence of 15 years handed down last year.
Rodman tendered his apology in a statement released on Thursday by his publicist.
“I want to first apologise to Kenneth Bae’s family.
“I’m very sorry. At this point I should know better than to make political statements. I’m truly sorry,” he said.
In his statement Rodman said the day of the CNN interview had been “very stressful”.
“Some of my teammates were leaving because of pressure from their families and business associates,” he said, adding that his dream of “basketball diplomacy was quickly falling apart”.
“I had been drinking,” he said. “It’s not an excuse but by the time the interview happened I was upset. I was overwhelmed.”
Rodman’s trip to North Korea along with a handful of other former NBA players has courted controversy, with accusations of pandering to a totalitarian regime with a terrible record on human rights.
At the exhibition match on Wednesday, Rodman had sung Happy Birthday to his “best friend” Kim who was watching the game in a packed Pyongyang auditorium.
It was Rodman’s fourth trip to North Korea in 12 months and he has been criticised for failing to raise human rights issues or the plight of Bae, whose family voiced disgust at his television interview.
“Dennis Rodman could do a lot of good by advocating for Kenneth to Kim Jong-Un, but instead he has decided to hurl outrageous accusations at my brother,” said Bae’s sister Terri Chung.
“He is playing games with my brother’s life,” she added.
Bae, a 45-year-old tour operator, was arrested in November 2012 as he entered the northeastern North Korean port city of Rason.
North Korea described Bae as a Christian evangelist who smuggled inflammatory material into the country and sentenced him to 15 year’s of hard labour for allegedly seeking to topple the government.
