Dennis Rodman has checked into an undisclosed alcohol
rehabilitation center to treat his long-time struggle with alcoholism,
his agent says.
Darren Prince declined on Saturday to say which
facility will treat Rodman and how long he will be there. Rodman
recently returned to the United States from his latest trip to North
Korea.
He later apologized for comments he made in North Korea
about a detained American missionary, saying he had been drinking and
was under pressure as he organized an exhibition game there. He also
sang "Happy Birthday" to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the start of
the friendly game.
"What was potentially a historic and
monumental event turned into a nightmare for everyone concerned," Prince
said. "Dennis Rodman came back from North Korea in pretty rough shape
emotionally. The pressure that was put on him to be a combination ‘super
human’ political figure and ‘fixer’ got the better of him.
"He is embarrassed, saddened and remorseful for the anger and hurt his words have caused."
Rodman
won five NBA championships with the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls
and was one of the NBA’s fiercest rebounders and most colorful
personalities. Detroit selected Rodman in the second round of the 1986
draft out of Southeastern Oklahoma. The native of Trenton, N.J., also
played for Chicago, San Antonio, the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas. He
was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame in of 2011.
He
stamped his name on "Dennis Rodman — The original Bad Ass Premium
Vodka," late last year. It was in the works before his relations with
North Korea, but has taken off since.
Rodman, known as much for
his piercings, tattoos and bad behavior as he was for basketball, was
the highest-profile American to meet Kim since Kim inherited power from
father Kim Jong Il in 2011. He traveled to the secretive state for the
first time last February with the Harlem Globetrotters for an HBO series
produced by New York-based VICE television.
But the 52-year-old
Rodman has been denounced for not trying to use his influence with Kim
to secure the release of Kenneth Bae, an American missionary with health
problems who is being held in North Korea on charges of "anti-state"
crimes.
He organized a group of retired NBA players to travel to
North Korea for that exhibition game.
Rodman dedicated the contest to
his "best friend" Kim, who along with his wife and other senior
officials and their wives watched from a special seating area. The
capacity crowd of about 14,000 at the Pyongyang Indoor Stadium clapped
loudly as Rodman sang a verse from the song.
Rodman had an angry meltdown before the game on CNN, defending his decision to travel to North Korea.
"People
forget Dennis is just an entertainer and retired NBA star," Prince
said. "The fact remains that a basketball game was played in North Korea
live in front of 14,000 people and hundreds of millions around the
world viewed clips of the game."
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