Dennis Rodman's planned NBA players v North Korea basketball match has been thrown into disarray after Rodman went lost his cool on CNN this morning.
Rodman is currently in North Korea with seven former NBA players, many of whom are considering not going through with the planned game, according to Deadspin. One of the stars, Charles D Smyth has expressed remorse at coming on the trip, saying 'The way some of the statements and things that Dennis has said has tainted our efforts.'
'Dennis is a great guy, but how he articulates what goes on - he gets emotional and he says things that he'll apologize for later.
One such instance was said interview with CNN this morning, where Rodman ranted, almost incoherently, when asked about North Korea imprisoning American missionary Kenneth Bae.
Smyth can be seen trying to calm Rodman down before eventually cutting him off.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRpdZ9K4LIg
Smyth also said
'Apparently our message is not being conveyed properly due to the circumstances that are much bigger than us, and I think that has to do with politics and government.'
'I feel a lot of remorse for the guys because we are doing something positive, but it's a lot bigger than us. We are not naive, we understand why things are being portrayed the way they are. We can't do anything about that, if we could we would.
'We're not skilled in those areas. Dennis is definitely not skilled in those areas.'
Paddy Power has already stepped back in the association with the event after originally being a very prominent sponsor, saying 'We’ve taken a back seat now after the goings on in North Korea. We’ve decided to take a back seat but we are honouring our contractual obligations. The show is still going on and the match is scheduled for Wednesday,'
Their decision came in the wake of the execution of Kim Jong-Un's uncle-in-law Jang Song-taek, with the bookmaker adding 'It was really a reaction to the worldwide focus and total condemnation of the North Korean regime over recent events. We don't want to be associated with that.'
Today FM broadcaster, Matt Cooper has gone to North Korea with Rodman's group and be seen behind Rodman in new reports yesterday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IwXYqITNrk
Hat-tip: Deadspin Additional info: Yahoo Sports
