The bizarre case of Dennis Rodman’s widely criticized ‘basketball diplomacy’ with North Korea continued on Wednesday, as his team of former NBA players played against a team of North Korean players for dictator Kim Jong Un’s birthday. Meanwhile, the family of Kenneth Bae, an American detained in the isolated country, is criticizing Rodman for not using his relationship with Kim to help Bae get released.
Bae’s family was outraged by Rodman’s comments on CNN Tuesday, in which he suggested that Kim may have done the right thing by imprisoning Bae. Anchor Chris Cuomo pressed Rodman to talk about Bae, since it has never been clear as to exactly why Bae is imprisoned. According to ABC News, Pyongyang has said that Bae committed “hostile acts,” including planning a coup. He has been in prison there since November 2012.
“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, insinuating that Kenneth has done something sinister,” Terri Chung, Bae’s sister, said in a statement. “He is clearly uninformed about Kenneth's case, and he is certainly not in any position to pass judgment on Kenneth Bae, who has never any hostile intentions against the DPRK.”
Chung added that her family is “outraged” by Rodman’s comments on Tuesday and said that there’s nothing “diplomatic” about Rodman’s trip. “He is playing games with my brother's life. There is no diplomacy, only games, and at my brother's expense,” she said.
According to USA Today, Rodman sang “Happy Birthday” to Kim before the game started. He even played in the first half, but sat out the second, sitting right next to Kim. The North Korean team scored 10 more points than the Americans in the game, but the second half featured the players mixing for multi-national teams.
image: CNN screenshot