Dennis Rodman Loses Control During CNN Interview
Dennis Rodman spoke to Chris Cuomo on CNN ostensibly to defend his trip to North Korea and his basketball game to honor dictator Kim Jong Un. Cuomo wanted to know if Rodman would help get the release of Kenneth Bae, a U.S. citizen who’s been detained there for more than a year. That’s when things went downhill.
Growing angry with Cuomo and jabbing his finger toward the camera for emphasis, Rodman said, “Kenneth Bae did one thing … If you understand what Kenneth Bae did. Do you understand what he did in this country? No, no, no, you tell me, you tell me. Why is he held captive here in this country, why? … I would love to speak on this.
“You know, you’ve got 10 guys here, 10 guys here, they’ve left their families, they’ve left their damn families, to help this country, as in a sports venture. That’s 10 guys, all these guys here, do anyone understand that? Christmas, New Year’s …
“I don’t give a rat’s ass what the hell you think. I’m saying to you, look at these guys here, look at them … they dared to do one thing, they came here.”
Fellow player Charles D. Smith tried to calm the discussion but Rodman carried on, becoming increasingly agitated.
“Ain’t no shill … let me do this,” he said to Smith, shaking his hand from his arm. Addressing Cuomo, he continued, “Really? Really? I want to tell you one thing. People round the world, around the world, I wanna do one thing.
“You’re the guy behind the mic right now. We’re the guys here doing one thing. We have to go back to America and take the abuse. Do you have to take the abuse that we’re gonna take? Do you sir, are you going to take the abuse?
“One day, one day, this door is going to open because these 10 guys here, all of us, Christie, Vin, Dennis, Charles, … I mean everybody here, if we could open the door just a little bit for people to come here and do one thing.”
