Dennis Rodman, the controversial former NBA star with Oklahoma ties, has never been easy to like, but it never really mattered to him anyway. He has now added to his list of outrageous antics.

While overseas shooting a documentary, he made a stop in North Korea, where he attended a basketball game in Pyongyang with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. They also had sushi together later.

At the airport afterward, on his way to Beijing, Rodman said that it was “amazing” that the North Koreans were “so honest.” He also praised the late Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un’s father, and the first leader of the country, Kim Il Sung, as “great leaders.”

After dining and watching a basketball game with Kim Jong-Un, Rodman said: “He’s proud, his country likes him — not like him, love him, love him. Guess what, I love him. The guy’s really awesome.”

Rodman, also known as “The Worm,” is either playing the bad boy again or he really is stupid. Even playing in the insulated atmosphere of the NBA where everyday problems are unfamiliar, it is beyond reasoning that someone could not be aware of the level of misery that the Kim family has heaped upon the North Koreans for decades.

Rodman, who played college basketball at Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant, went on to have a Hall of Fame career in the NBA with several teams, becoming the league bad boy along the way.

We know “The Worm” doesn’t care much about what anyone thinks about him and during his basketball career we could laugh at his outlandish behavior. After all, it was entertainment.

This, however, went far beyond an argument with a referee or fan. Embracing, literally, a family that has caused its own people and the world so much grief over the years? Stupid — and heartless.

— Tulsa World, Oklahoma,

March 4