Dennis Rodman North Korea

One of the most unusual athlete controversies of the past few years has involved former Chicago Bulls’ star Dennis Rodman’s repeated trips to North Korea. Rodman started going there in 2013, and has made further trips since. Rodman appears on Wednesday’s episode of Undeniable with Joe Buck (airing on AT&T/DirecTV’s Audience Network at 8 and 11 p.m. Eastern), and when asked about North Korea and dictator Kim Jong-Un, he both spoke of Kim’s basketball knowledge and said he didn’t understand why his trips there were seen as so political:

“He knows basketball shit. I mean, a lot. He asked Michael [Jordan] to go, and he said no. Then he asked me and I said, ‘Okay, I’ll go.’ But I didn’t know anything about the politics. Because I wasn’t going there for that. I was going there just to meet the guy. It wasn’t about politics. And everyone wanted to keep making this big hiccup about ‘Why’d you go over to North Korea? Don’t you know who this guy is?’ That wasn’t the goal for me.”

“I just wanted to make history, because not too many people have a conversation with him. And people made that such a political stand, and I’m like ‘Whatever, man.’ But you know what, I’m glad I went. Because I was just part of history. Not a lot of people have went there over the years. And I didn’t go there for political reasons, I went for sports. If people are uncomfortable with that, I’m sorry.”

Rodman’s point about talking to Kim has some merit, but going to North Korea and socializing with the dictator there is obviously a political act on some levels, even if he doesn’t want it to be. Rodman’s trips there have received some praise (including from the director of the Modern War Institute at West Point, who invited Rodman to speak there last year) as well as criticism, but they’re undisputedly political, even if he doesn’t want to realize that. Still, it’s interesting to see him discussing that in this kind of forum, and to hear his thoughts on why he did it.

Undeniable with Joe Buck airs Wednesdays on Audience at 8 and 11 p.m. Eastern.

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.