Dennis Rodman apologized Thursday for comments about captive American missionary Kenneth Bae in an interview with CNN.
A day after the former basketball
star sang "Happy Birthday" to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and led a
squad of former NBA players in a friendly game, Rodman issued the
apology through publicist Jules Feiler in an email message to The
Associated Press.
"I want to
apologize," Rodman said. "I take full responsibility for my actions. It
had been a very stressful day. Some of my teammates were leaving because
of pressure from their families and business associates. My dreams of
basketball diplomacy was quickly falling apart. I had been drinking.
It's not an excuse but by the time the interview happened I was upset. I
was overwhelmed. It's not an excuse, it's just the truth.
"I
want to first apologize to Kenneth Bae's family. I want to apologize to
my teammates and my management team. I also want to apologize to Chris
Cuomo. I embarrassed a lot of people. I'm very sorry. At this point I
should know better than to make political statements. I'm truly sorry."
Rodman
has been slammed for not using his influence with Kim to help free Bae,
the missionary in poor health who is being confined in the North for
"anti-state" crimes. On CNN on Tuesday, Rodman implied Bae was at fault.
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