Basketball fans learned a little more about Dennis Rodman's quirkiness during Episodes 3 and 4 of ESPN's “The Last Dance” docuseries.
But while those episodes detailed Rodman's penchant for partying, they did not delve much into his political involvement.
Rodman frequently visits North Korea and has developed somewhat of a relationship with Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un.
The Hall of Fame forward spoke about the first time he met Kim Jong-un (in 2013) during an appearance on Mike Tyson's Hotboxin' podcast.
Via Sportando:
“When I first met him (Kim Jong Un), I was with the Harlem Globetrotters and I wasn’t playing so some people ask me to come with them,” Dennis Rodman said. “I think I’m going to jail, right. I said: ‘What the f*** did I do in America?'
“I walked up to the stands and sit in front of a desk. There are all these king-style chairs, like 20 of them. Next thing I know, 22,000 North Koreans all stand up and start clapping.
“It was loud clapping and they’re cheering and I’m thinking they were doing it for me. So I wave and someone tells me: ‘No, that’s for him’ and points at Kim Jong Un. I asked ‘Who is that guy?’and they told me ‘that’s our leader’, so I asked … ‘leader of what?’
“We sat there talking about basketball the whole time. The game finishes and then he says ‘We’d love you to come back, we enjoy your company. Let’s have dinner tonight, a little karaoke and have some vodka, some hotties and stuff like that.’
“Next thing I know, we are having dinner and we are drunk as s***, he starts singing karaoke and I have no clue what the f*** he’s talking about. Everyone starts clapping and then he has this 18-piece girl band come out and these girls are hot but they just played one song. Just one f****** song. It was the theme from Dallas.”
It seems fitting Rodman's first encounter with Kim Jong-un involved something of a club atmosphere.
Dennis Rodman last visited the country in 2018, and he thinks of himself as somewhat of an American ambassador to the North Korean government.
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