Former NBA star Dennis Rodman has already raised eyebrows with his unprecedented friendship with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Now the Hall of Famer has had the opportunity to meet with the leader of another country that has a less-then-favorable relationship with the United States.
While attending a recent charity event in Moscow, organized to introduce children to American basketball and football, Rodman met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, telling Fox Business News’ Melissa Francis that the controversial leader was “cool,” the Daily Caller reports.
“You know, he’s actually cool,” Rodman said. “I’m not talking about politics, I ain’t about politics … this was my first time meeting him. He just walked in, shook my hand and left with all his people. I just stayed there and had a good time at his restaurant.
“I did a little charity event out there. The president asked me to come out there,” he added. “I hung out with those guys for a minute. They don’t know about American basketball, American football. I went over there to represent America as far as basketball is concerned.”
Of course, since the topic was already on leaders of countries that America has a strained relationship with, Francis brought up Kim Jong Un, to Rodman’s amusement. “You just gotta bring it up,” he quipped, laughing.
Rodman admitted that he hasn’t spoken to the young dictator since around January, but again insisted that his relationships with these leaders have nothing to do with politics—they’re just about creating “good harmony and good happiness.”
“I said it from day one and I’ll say this still today: I’m not a politician; I’m just a basketball ambassador. That’s it,” Rodman told Fox Business. “It’s not about me trying to go and free the world … I just love going over there and try to create some really good harmony and good happiness around the world. Everything else, I don’t want to get in politics; that’s not my business.”
Read more at the Daily Caller.