In 2014, Rodman famously called the Russian President Vladimir Putina “cool guy” after a trip to Moscow, where he acted as an informal spokesperson for his sport.
“They don’t know about American basketball, American football,” he told Fox Business that year, referring to Russians. “I went over there to represent America as far as basketball is concerned.”
He added, “I’m not a politician, I’m just a basketball ambassador. That’s it.”