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Rodman in NYC: Calls For ‘Basketball Diplomacy’ with N. Korea

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Recently, Jewish Voice publisher David Ben Hooren chatted with former NBA star Dennis Rodman about his efforts to achieve diplomatic goals with North Korean President Kim Jon Un through basketball tournaments
Recently, Jewish Voice publisher David Ben Hooren chatted with former NBA star Dennis Rodman about his efforts to achieve diplomatic goals with North Korean President Kim Jon Un through basketball tournaments
Former National Basketball Association star Dennis Rodman was in New York on Monday, September 9, to talk about his recent visit to the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, and the country’s leader Kim Jong Un. He touted a close relationship with Kim and said that “basketball diplomacy” could bridge the gap between North Korea and the United States.

At a news conference, Rodman said was invited to bring a team of former NBA players to North Korea for exhibition games next year, adding that the North Korean leader will give him anything he needs to make the games a success.

“He said do you want a stadium? We’ll give it to you,” Rodman said. “We’ve got 150,000 kids who will do anything for you on the field. We’ve got 95,000 people in the stadium watching this game. That’s a lot of people.”

The relationship between Rodman and Kim took root during the NBA Hall of Famer’s controversial first visit to North Korea with the Harlem Globetrotters in February. The international community considers Kim a dictator, a label Rodman rejects.

“If you meet the marshal over there, he’s a very good guy,” said Rodman. “He has to do his job, but he’s a very good guy.”

The basketball star is calling his project “basketball diplomacy.”

Daniel Pinkston, an Asia specialist at the International Crisis Group, points out it’s a non-confrontational way for the two countries to begin breaking down barriers.

“We’re social beings, and interacting with other people through academic exchanges, cultural exchanges, sports exchanges – this is how we learn new things and learn how to cooperate with others,” said Pinkston.

The United States has been seeking the release of American missionary Kenneth Bae, who’s in a North Korean prison and reported to be ill. Rodman refused to answer questions about Bae. But earlier he said advocating for Bae’s release is not his job. One of his goals seems to be grabbing the attention of President Barack Obama.

“So why, Obama, are you afraid to talk to Dennis Rodman? You’re not afraid to talk to Beyonce and Jay-Z. Why not me? Why not me? I’m pretty important now right,” said Rodman.

Whether his “basketball diplomacy” will score is anyone’s guess. Rodman said discussions were held in regards to holding a basketball tournament in Pyongyang on Jan. 8, 2014, which will be Kim Jong-un’s 32nd birthday.

But there’s more. He said he has also been invited to spend three years training North Korea’s basketball delegation to try to qualify for the next Summer Olympics.

According to Rodman and Ireland’s largest bookmaker Paddy Powder, the “Paddy Power Dennis Rodman Invitational” will pit a North Korean team, trained by Rodman, against a squad of “all-star American players.” He acknowledged that the American squad had not yet been assembled.

“It was a dream…It’s not about the money. It’s about trying to open Obama’s and everybody’s mind,” said Rodman. Paddy Power is sponsoring the tournament, putting up a few million dollars, according to Rodman.

Paddy Power said they’re aware of the sensitivity towards relations with North Korea and made it clear that they’re not endorsing the regime by putting on a basketball tournament.

“This is about us and Dennis. We’re inspired by Dennis Rodman’s dream for basketball diplomacy,” said a spokesperson with Paddy Power.

Rodman also says he made history on his second trip to North Korea by becoming the first foreigner to hold Kim Jong-un’s daughter, a claim that revealed to the world that the secretive leader even had a baby.

“For him to open his heart and his mind, to give me his daughter for the first time in history,” said Rodman with a cigar in his hand at a news conference. “He’s my friend.”

In a separate interview Monday, Rodman told the UK’s Guardian newspaper that Kim Jong-un’s daughter is named Ju-ae and that the North Korean ruler is a “good dad.”

The former Chicago Bull said he talked bluntly to Kim Jong-un, the third family member to run the impoverished country.

“I said this to him, ‘Your grandfather and your father did some bad things, but you are trying to change something,'” Rodman said.

Rodman first met Kim Jong-un, a basketball fan, during a visit in February to promote the sport and make a film. U.S. officials frowned on the trip as it gave the leader a propaganda boost, but Rodman suggested “basketball diplomacy” could warmrelations.

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