Dennis Rodman is again in the headlines for his relationship with North Korean leader-slash-dictator Kim Jong Un. Rodman plans to try and bring other former NBA stars to North Korea for an exhibition game and claims that he's acting to try and achieve diplomacy, not to gain any exposure.
Excerpt: "Rodman's friendship with the autocratic leader has been criticized -- and led to a couple of testy exchanges during his Manhattan news conference. But Rodman insists Kim is a good person, wants to have better relations with the United States and that he's the one who can help make it happen with his plan for "basketball diplomacy."
"Why North Korea? It'll open doors," Rodman said.
Touting his friendship with Kim and taunting President Barack Obama for not talking to him, Rodman said he will go back to North Korea for a week in December to help select local players for the game. He hopes to have stars such as former Chicago teammate Scottie Pippen and Karl Malone.
"Michael Jordan, he won't do it, because he's Michael Jordan," Rodman said.
Rodman, holding a cigar and wearing the shirt of a vodka company and a hat of a betting company that is funding the event, said Kim has asked him to train his players to compete in the 2016 Olympics and offered to allow the Hall of Famer to write a book about him."
Do you think celebrities should be engaging in efforts like this or do you believe these matters are better left to professional diplomats (i.e. the State Department)? Do you think Dennis Rodman in particular is well-suited to this type of effort? Do you think it's likely to succeed? Do you think his motives are indeed noble or just a publicity stunt?
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Lego, Cav (the Lego brand name was derived from the Danish expression "leg godt" - play well - and lego also translates in Latin as "I study" or "I put together"...really, one of the world's most perfect words!)
I think that these sort of political matters should be left to professional diplomats but it is good that Rodman is making the effort to communicate with North Korea. He is communicating with North Korea not for just his own purposes but to hopefully improve the relations between the U.S and North Korea.
Though I don't think Rodman is suited to this type of effort, his friendship with dictator Kim Jong Un may help to improve relations drastically. I believe his intentions are noble because if his actions were simply a publicity stunt I do not think he would return to North Korea because of the danger and risk.
