NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman said he'd never return to North Korea again during a teary interview with ESPN over the weekend.
Rodman, who previously embarked on a "basketball diplomacy" trip to Pyongyang and famously appeared alongside Kim Jong Un on multiple occasions, revealed the difficulties he'd struggled with since the DPRK trips began.
"It sucks," he told Conversation host Mark Schwarz. "I just hate it, some people are just so narrow-minded...that's Americans. We love to dog each other, and make money off of people's bad fortunes."
Rodman encountered an enormous wave of public backlash after moving forward with plans to host a basketball game between a local team in Pyongyang and a lineup of former NBA players last year. But it seems the man known as "The Worm" didn't regret his effort to build a bridge between two nations with a tense historical relationship.
"At least someone tried, that's how I look at it," Rodman, who once called Kim Jong Un a "friend for life," said. "I don't wanna be a hero. I just want to do happy things and do great things in life."
Rodman also apologized for the trip.
"If I put anyone in harm's way, I apologize," he said. "If you ever want me to go back there again, I won't go back."
The former NBA player then touched on Kenneth Bae during the ESPN interview, saying that he "didn't know what the hell he did."
Rodman previously said he would gladly switch places with Bae, who has been detained in North Korea since 2013.
When asked about Kim Jong Un, Rodman didn't give praise, nor did he chastise the country's leader.
"It's so intriguing to hear him talk about sports," he told Schwarz. "I said, 'Wow, this guy, he's moving toward the 21st century. And I'm thinking in my heart that's gonna open for everybody. That's what I'm hoping, that's what I'm looking for long term, it does open."
Still, Rodman insisted that if Americans saw the North Korean way of life, they'd understand.
"I know truly in my heart something's gonna happen," he said, in regards to United States and North Korean relations. "If it happens, watch all these people kiss my ass."
