Dennis Rodman wants to add another prize to his five NBA championship trophies, this time courtesy of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
Yes, the Hall of Fame forward and former part-time wrestler wants a Nobel Peace Prize. In a new interview with Sports Illustrated, he claims he deserves it for his recent trip to North Korea with VICE magazine and the Harlem Globetrotters.
He also has some free advice for President Barack Obama:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Fact is, [leader Kim Jong Un] hasn’t bombed anywhere he’s threatened to yet. Not South Korea, not Hawaii, not … whatever. People say he’s the worst guy in the world. All I know is Kim told me he doesn’t want to go to war with America. His whole deal is to talk basketball with Obama … I ask, Mr. President, what’s the harm in a simple phone call? Come on, Obama, reach out to Kim and be his friend. [Sports Illustrated]
While President Obama is a die-hard Bulls fan, it's hard to see him calling Kim and talking hoops on the advice of a man who once appeared on Celebrity Rehab. Rodman visited North Korea in February, where he watched a basketball game between the Globetrotters and the North Korean national team (watch footage of the trip below).
Rodman and Kim apparently bonded so well that the former NBA player plans to return to North Korea to "chill," "play some basketball," and ask the "Supreme Leader" to do him a "solid" by releasing Kenneth Bae, the Korean-American sentenced by Pyongyang to 15 years of hard labor for "hostile acts" against the regime. For this, Rodman believes he should be rewarded:
My mission is to break the ice between hostile countries. Why it’s been left to me to smooth things over, I don’t know … But I’ll tell you this: If I don’t finish in the top three for the next Nobel Peace Prize, something’s seriously wrong. [Sports Illustrated]
If, somehow, Rodman were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, he would be the first American to claim the honor since Obama won in 2009 "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Keith Wagstaff is a staff writer at TheWeek.com covering politics and current events. He has previously written for such publications as TIME, Details, VICE, and the Village Voice.
