Dennis Rodman: Michael Jordan Declined Kim Jong-un's Invitation
Former NBA star Dennis Rodman first visited North Korea in 2013, joining the Harlem Globetrotters on a basketball tour. But he wasn't dictator Kim Jong-un's first choice.
"Basically, he asked Michael Jordan first, and Michael Jordan said 'No,'" Rodman told TMZ Sports. "So then he asked about me, and I said 'Yes.' That's how it all started."
Rodman also told NBC's Megyn Kelly this week that Jong-un had invited Scottie Pippen after Jordan, and Pippen also declined. It was the second time Jordan had been invited to the country, as Kim Jong-il—Jong-un's father—reportedly invited him to the country as well.
Rodman said the first time he traveled to North Korea, he had no idea he would meet Jong-un. But the dictator, who loved the Chicago Bulls in the '90s, invited Rodman to sit with him while the Globetrotters played to talk basketball.
He has made several trips to the country since and said that he has referred to Jong-un as a "friend" because the dictator has treated him as such during his visits. When asked about the many reported atrocities committed by Jong-un, Rodman maintained that his relationship with Jong-un and his visits to North Korea were about sports and not politics.
"I don't know anything about what he did," Rodman said. "I don't know anything negative about the military or stuff like that. I was there because of sports. Nothing else. Just bringing our two countries together [through] sports. Everything else, that's the government's [job] to go over there and reconcile and try to make the world a better place. That's not my job. My job was for sports."
