Dennis Rodman's crew of former NBA players and street ballers are in North Korea, set to play a game of basketball for North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, but Charles Smith is feeling "remorse" about agreeing to play in the exhibition game, reports The Associated Press:
Charles Smith feels ‘remorse’ for playing in Dennis Rodman’s North Korea game
Dennis Rodman’s trip to North Korea has undertaken heavy criticism and Charles Smith is feeling remorse about joining him on the trip.
“I feel bad for Dennis, I feel bad for the players,” Smith said, adding that when he played for the United States in the World Games in 1998 he felt elation.
“I felt huge, I felt on top of the world. But I feel the reverse now,” he said. “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.
Rodman’s decision to affiliate himself with Kim Jong Un and North Korea has become a hot topic because of politics and circumstance regarding the country. Rodman and his team were interviewed on CNN and host Chris Cuomo questioned whether they were doing the “right” thing by playing in the game.
Rodman became emotional but Smith repeatedly stepped into the interview, speaking for the players and trying to calm the situation down.
The group is being heavily criticized for participating in the game -- a birthday present from Rodman to Kim Jong Un -- because of human rights and nuclear weapons issues. Other former NBA players on Rodman's roster include Vin Baker, Doug Christie, Kenny Anderson, Craig Hodges and Cliff Robinson.
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