'I think Dennis has drank a little bit too much of the Kool-Aid,' Richardson says. Richardson: Rodman crossed line

Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson joined in the mounting criticism against Dennis Rodman and his trip to North Korea, saying the former NBA player “crossed the line” during his heated interview with CNN on Tuesday.

“I thought Dennis Rodman crossed a line this morning by implying that Kenneth Bae might be guilty, by suggesting that there was a crime. There is no crime,” Richardson told Wolf Blitzer on Tuesday on CNN’s “Newsroom.”


Richardson, who has traveled to the country many times himself and has made efforts to release Bae, added: “I think Dennis has drank a little bit too much of the Kool-Aid from the North Koreans.”

( PHOTOS: Kenneth Bae’s life and imprisonment)

In his own interview with CNN on Tuesday, Rodman defended his trip, where he is joined by a number of former NBA players to partake in an exhibition basketball game against a team of North Koreans on Wednesday. When pressed by CNN’s anchor Chris Cuomo on whether he will use it as an opportunity to speak about jailed American Bae, Rodman exploded.

Richardson, the former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said Rodman should be advocating for Bae’s release. He said that he was disappointed by the turn of events of the trip, which he said is being used “propaganda-wise” by the regime for Kim Jong Un’s birthday.

Richardson wouldn’t dismiss the merits of “basketball diplomacy” but said this particular effort, with Rodman at the helm, “has become a sideshow.”

( PHOTOS: Inside North Korea)

He added that he doesn’t fault the other players who are traveling with Rodman but said the Hall of Famer’s comments during his CNN interview were wrong and inappropriate.

“While he’s saying this is basketball diplomacy, he’s getting into politics in a wrong way by suggesting that Kenneth Bae might be guilty. So he’s crossed the line,” Richardson said.