Rodman Apologizes for Remarks on US Missionary

Kristin Wright | Open Doors USA | Updated: Jan 13, 2014

Rodman Apologizes for Remarks on US Missionary

Dennis Rodman has apologized for his rant on Kenneth Bae, an American missionary imprisoned in North Korea.

“I want to first apologize to Kenneth Bae's family,” Rodman said Thursday in a statement. “I want to apologize to my teammates and my management team. I also want to apologize to Chris Cuomo.”

In an exclusive interview last week with CNN’s Chris Cuomo, Rodman seemed to infer that Bae, who has been held since 2012 after being sentenced to 15 years of forced labor, might have done something to deserve his sentence.

“Do you understand what he did in this country?” Rodman asked Cuomo. "No, no, no, you tell me, you tell me. Why is he held captive here in this country, why?”

After adding, “I would love to speak on this,” Rodman abruptly changed the topic and focused instead on how his fellow basketball players left their families behind to play at the exhibition game in North Korea.

Bae’s sister, Terry Chung, says that Rodman’s comments were outrageous.

“He was in a position to do some good and to help advocate for Kenneth,” she said. “He refused to do so. But then instead he has chosen to hurl these outrageous accusations against Kenneth. He clearly doesn't know anything about Kenneth, about his case. And so we were appalled by that.”

Publication Date: January 13, 2014.



Rodman Apologizes for Remarks on US Missionary