Dennis Rodman — peacemaker? He seems to think so. All he says he needs is an airplane ticket to China and the blessing of NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
In a video posted Wednesday on his official Twitter account, the former basketball superstar held two photos: one of him what appears to be sitting courtside with a laughing Kim Jong-Un, and a second of him with an equally smiley President Donald Trump.
“Commissioner Adam Silver, I know a thing or two about diplomacy. Book me a ticket to Shanghai with you!” he said, signing of as “Ambassador Rodman.”
A similar caption was posted with the video that included the hashtags #AmbassadorRodman, #Peacemaker and #BasketballDiplomacy. Check out the video in the link below:
@NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, I know a thing or two about diplomacy between other countries. Book me a flight to Shanghai with you! #AmbassadorRodman #Peacemaker #BasketballDiplomacy pic.twitter.com/8Xo580I18p
— Dennis Rodman (@dennisrodman) October 9, 2019
Tensions between the NBA and the Chinese government erupted last week after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted in support of Hong Kong protesters. In the since-deleted tweet, Morey wrote: “Fight for Freedom. Stand With Hong Kong.” It was immediately criticized by the Chinese government, and the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) suspended all cooperation with the Rockets, which is among the most popular in China.
Silver has frequently supported political speech by the league’s top players like LeBron James.
Last June, Rodman talked with Megyn Kelly about his bromance with the North Korean dictator, calling him a “friend for life.”
“We basically have fun. We have fun. People don’t realize that. We go to his private island. We go jet skiing. We sing karaoke, seriously we do. He tried to sing James Brown,” Rodman told the host of the now defunct “Megyn Kelly Today.”
Rodman’s experience in North Korea and as a contestant on “The Celebrity Apprentice,” makes him the highest profile person to have a pre-existing relationship with both Kim and Trump.
“I don’t look at him as a dictator,” Rodman told Michael Strahan in an interview on “Good Morning American” earlier that same month. “I look at him as more like a person that tries to blend in with the world. I tried to convey that to people, and people looked at me like I was out of my mind.”
The NBA is set to tip-off its 2019-2020 season on Oct. 22.