dennis rodman

The problem with “Dennis Rodman: Big Bang in Pyongyang,” primarily, is that the filmmakers decided to make a film about Dennis Rodman going to North Korea. The 93-minute documentary promises the unmistakable stench of a shit-show just in the title alone. So it’s not that surprising to discover that “Dennis Rodman: Big Bang in Pyongyang” is awful — both in the “shock and awe” sort of awful, as well as in the “absolutely terrible and affronting to humanity” kind of way.

Basketball Diplomacy: Lunch with the North Korean Team (VICE on HBO Ep. #10 Extended)

Watch this video about Ryan Duffy and Dennis Rodman’s trip to North Korea to exercise Basketball Diplomacy with Kim Jong Un.

He can still dunk like a butterfly, but in the personally tragic case of former basketball pro Dennis Rodman in North Korea, the embrace of Kim Jong Un and his policies sting like a bee. Rodman is the most recent example of sports diplomacy gone awry. With the Sochi Olympics starting, a new cadre of unpredictable athlete diplomats will likely take the stage.

He can still dunk like a butterfly, but in the personally tragic case of former basketball pro Dennis Rodman in North Korea, the embrace of Kim Jong Un and his policies sting like a bee. Rodman is the most recent example of sports diplomacy gone awry. With the Sochi Olympics starting, a new cadre of unpredictable athlete diplomats will likely take the stage.

Sports diplomacy is often presented as a slam dunk approach for building relations across political divides. Last week veteran NBA star Dennis Rodman took a shot at “basketball diplomacy” in North Korea and showed how professed good intentions can go afoul.

Sports diplomacy is often presented as a slam dunk approach for building relations across political divides. Last week veteran NBA star Dennis Rodman took a shot at “basketball diplomacy” in North Korea and showed how professed good intentions can go afoul. It also demonstrated the deft role of the media as the tables turned on the NBA players following a confrontational interview between Rodman and CNN New Day anchor Chris Cuomo. The NBA players not only lost control of the ball but became the ball on CNN’s court.

Dennis Rodman's controversial and bizarre foray into diplomacy made headlines this week. Harvard Professor Nicholas Burns criticized the former NBA player for going to North Korea to essentially embrace a brutal dictator. Rodman certainly isn't the first athlete to take a political stance, or even the first NBA player to do so.

While Dennis Rodman is perhaps the most outlandish celebrity to visit an authoritarian regime, he certainly isn't the first. The former NBA star hosted an exhibition game between North Koreans and former NBA players today. He insists his trip is apolitical, although he has repeatedly professed his fondness for Kim Jong-un, his new “friend for life.”

Pages