Dennis Rodman apologized Thursday for a rant he delivered earlier this week in which he suggested an American detained in North Korea deserved to be there.
{mosads}“I take full responsibility for my actions. It had been a very stressful day. Some of my teammates were leaving because of pressure from their families and business associates. My dreams of basketball diplomacy was quickly falling apart. I had been drinking. It’s not an excuse but by the time the interview happened I was upset,” his publicist issued in a statement to The Associated Press and CNN.
Rodman has been in North Korea this week with a group of retired basketball players. They played an exhibition game on Wednesday, which was believed to be Leader Kim Jong Un’s birthday.
During a Tuesday interview on CNN, Rodman suggested American Kenneth Bae — who has been detained in North Korea since late 2012 — deserved imprisonment.
CNN host Chris Cuomo had asked Rodman if he understood what Bae had done.
“No, no, no, you tell me, you tell me. Why is he held captive here in this country, why? I would love to speak on this,” Rodman replied.
He apologized to Bae’s family on Thursday.
“I want to first apologize to Kenneth Bae’s family. I want to apologize to my teammates and my management team. I embarrassed a lot of people. I’m very sorry. At this point I should know better than to make political statements. I’m truly sorry.”
Rodman has traveled to North Korea numerous times in recent months to meet with its leader, but never previously indicated he would use his trips to rescue Bae.