Dennis Rodman wants to flex his diplomatic muscles in Asia. Hot on the heels of the highly-anticipated first meeting between U.S. president Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the former Chicago Bulls forward is looking to team up with cannabis-themed cryptocurrency PotCoin to sponsor his international travel.
According to The Washington Post, representatives for both Rodman and PotCoin have confirmed that the five-time NBA champion is planning to attend the tenuous nuclear summit to offer "moral support" to both Kim Jong Un and Trump.
Since finding out about the North Korean Marshal's love for basketball in 2013, Rodman has visited the closed-bordered Asian country five times, and has called Kim Jong Un a "friend for life." On the other side of the (pot)coin, Rodman is familiar with Trump from his time as a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice. Last year, Rodman told reporters that he gifted the controversial North Korean leader a copy of Trump's book, The Art of The Deal.
Now, one month after a historic meeting between Kim Jong Un and South Korean president Moon Jae-In, Trump is set to travel to Singapore for a potentially groundbreaking nuclear peace talk with Kim, and Rodman wants in on the action.
Joining in on the unsanctioned international diplomacy, Canadian-based marijuana cryptocurrency PotCoin is once again attempting to turn Rodman's international travel into a bold advertising opportunity.
Debuting as a digital currency substitute for legal cannabis businesses blocked from traditional banking institutions, PotCoin has not yet caught on in most American dispensaries. That said, the company has garnered a fair amount of publicity from the Rodman connection, and PotCoin is trying to milk a sponsorship deal for all its worth.
"The PotCoin team as a community has been incredibly supportive of Rodman's peace mission from the beginning," Shawn Perez, a PotCoin spokesman, told the Post. "We're thrilled to see how the political climate has improved between North Korea and the U.S. since he became involved… We at PotCoin definitely believe that Dennis Rodman deserves the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with President Trump and the Marshal Kim Jong Un."
Officially though, Rodman has not received an invitation to the Singapore summit from either world leader. According to The Hill, during interviews Friday morning, President Trump confirmed Rodman's lack of diplomatic standing, even while praising his on-court skills.
"I like him. He's a nice guy. No, he was not invited," Trump told reporters about Rodman, adding, apparently unprompted, "Dennis was a great rebounder and he wasn't, relatively speaking, that tall."
It is still not clear if Rodman will actually take up PotCoin's offer to sponsor his trip, or more importantly, what will actually come of the highly-anticipated nuclear peace meeting. But at least there's one thing that we know both Trump and Kim can already agree on: Rodman's ability to box out and hit the boards.
"So that tells you, rebounding," Trump said, "there's a genius to that."
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