Kim Jong Rodman

                                                                     Photo: Reuters/KCNA

The Times quoted Dennis Rodman as saying “Guess what, I love him. This guy’s really awesome,” about Kim Jong-un upon his departure from Pyongyang (“Way to Reach Kim Jong-un? Follow the Ball,” NYT, 3/1/13). Vice Magazine had sponsored the attempt at what it called “basketball diplomacy,” and as the Times remarked, it was “an allusion to the ping-pong diplomacy that helped open United States relations with China decades ago.” But what was in it for Rodman, who is pierced and tattooed and has been known to cross-dress? North Korea is a pretty repressive place, but perhaps he felt he’d met his counterpart in Kim Jong-un, who is as much a bad boy as a politico, as Rodman  is as a sports celebrity. Could Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan be next on deck? Surely they could be promoted to the North Korean leader as equally out of the box thinkers who might also see something in Kim Jong-un that the international diplomatic community has missed. Who knows Kim Jong-un might turn out to be one of the only people on earth who liked Lohan’s portrayal of Elizabeth Taylor in the recent made-for-TV movie, Liz & Dick? But getting back to Rodman, you can’t help wondering what’s in the back of his mind? Lots of celebrities have done wild things. Tom Cruise and John Travolta embraced Scientology. Perhaps Kim Jong-un will be his master, his L. Ron Hubbard. Years of media blitzing can do strange things to a person’s mind. Maybe Kim Jong-un has become a role model to the aging basketball star. Maybe Rodman is planning on modeling the next chapter of his life on the as yet short-lived career of his “awesome” new friend. Kim Jong Rodman could make headlines as the next head of the DPRKBA, Democratic People Republic of Korea Basketball Association.