Dennis Rodman’s closeness to Kim Jong-un on his visit to North Korea raised many eyebrows, including boxing legend Mike Tyson.
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Back in 2013, Dennis Rodman paid a visit to North Korea which was backed by neither the NBA nor the US government. He tried his hand at ‘basketball diplomacy’, but failed miserably after the fourth visit. The Worm took several retired NBA players along with him for an exhibition game in NK’s capital Pyongyang.
As if the trip itself wasn’t bizarre enough, the bromance between Rodman and Kim Jong-un was unsettling to watch for many. North Korea’s supreme leader was a huge Chicago Bulls fan in the 90s. It makes sense that he got along really well with the former Bulls legend.
However, Rodman’s outburst during the CNN interview after his return was shocking. It looked like he tried to defend the harsh totalitarian regime and its dictator. The fact that a controversial sports figure like Mike Tyson had to call him out says a lot.
Mike Tyson was outraged after watching the Dennis Rodman interview on CNN
Dennis Rodman appeared on CNN to discuss the trip to North Korea soon after his return. The interview was embarrassing, to say the least. The 5x champion was speaking in favor of North Korea. In addition, he tried to justify the 15-year imprisonment of an American there.
Mike Tyson couldn’t believe what he was hearing when is saw the interview. He was extremely disappointed in Dennis Rodman and went so far as to call it treason. He thought that the Bulls legend might get arrested for what he said. Tyson strongly believed that Kim Jong-un paid him money to speak on Korea’s behalf.
“It’s treason. It’s treason, 100%. Look, I’m not politically incarnate or anything, but when you examine what treason is, it’s treason,” Tyson said. “He’s in another land, that’s an enemy of our land, and he’s talking [expletive] on us. He’s talking really bad to our guys over there.
He adds, “He must have paid them with money, I’m sure he’s getting paid. I’m sure Dennis is not doing this out of the kindness of his heart.”
Rodman did not face any treason charges in the US but that fourth trip to NK marked the end of his ‘basketball diplomacy’. He had to apologize to Kenneth Bae and his family for his insensitive words. The Worm said he was stressed and drunk during the interview and did not mean the things he uttered.
The former NBA legend is known to be over the top sometimes, but even for him, the North Korea episode was too much to handle.
