Dennis Rodman is headed back to North Korea next month.
And he plans to bring a bunch of former NBA players with him for an exhibition basketball tour.
Rodman says this is all coming together, he told the AP. He won’t name names yet, but he says it’s coming together. Forgive me if I take that with a little salt… actually a lot of salt. Like the Bonneville Salt Flats amount.
But here is what Rodman is saying.
“I have seven people right now,” Rodman said. “I talked to a couple of guys last week. Lot of guys are saying, `OK, great. I’ll go. We’ll go.’ But I’m not saying this to get people to go over there to prove a point - `OK, great, let’s go over there and make a difference.’
“No-o-o-o-o-o,” he continued. “Let’s go over there because this is a great opportunity for everyone to see a different culture. ... `This country is so bad. This city is so bad.’ OK, great, come see it and tell the world when you come back, `Hey, it’s not as bad as you think.’ And that’s why I’m taking NBA players over there, to show them, so they can come back and talk about it.”
Rodman is right, travel is a fantastic way to open your mind and break down preconceived notions and barriers. Also, I have no doubt whatsoever that the people of North Korea and good, kind folk who care about their families and are just trying to get through their daily lives the way you and I are.
That doesn’t mean North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un will not use Rodman as a pawn in a stab at good publicity. Doesn’t mean Kim isn’t a bad player on the international stage.
I don’t want to get into the politics of this, just passing along the news on a Friday night. Thanks for reading this. Now get back to doing something more important than reading about Rodman.
