Shaquille O’Neal and Dennis Rodman have a history of tangling on the basketball court, and now that the two men are retired it doesn’t seem like things have changed much. On CBS This Morning Tuesday to promote his new show “Upload with Shaquille O’Neal,” the former Lakers star offered a tough assessment of Rodman’s recent visit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
When host Charlie Rose asked O’Neal to comment on Rodman’s trip, he got a far more nuanced and astute assessment of the situation than anything Rodman himself said Sunday on ABC’s This Week.
“I think we as people should understand our roles in life,” O’Neal said. “And I think certain people should leave diplomacy to diplomats,” he added, drawing a expression of surprise from Norah O’Donnell. “It was a very, very risky move what he did.”
Perhaps to prove that he still has a sense of humor about the whole thing, O’Neal did add that “if there are any diplomats watching and you want to make me a diplomat, just give me a call.” If anything, O’Neal’s measured response proved that if any former NBA player was going to be the first American to meet Kim Jong-un, we may have better off with Shaq than we were with Rodman.
(Source: CBS-TV and Mediaite.com)
