Human Rights Organization Starts Petition to Remove Dennis Rodman From the Basketball Hall of Fame

This is all due to Rodman's relationship with North Korea leader Kim Jong-Un.

Dennis Rodman attends a basketball game
Getty

Dennis Rodman attends a basketball game

Dennis Rodman attends a basketball game

Following the death of American college student Otto Warmbier earlier this week, the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation has started a petition calling for the removal of Dennis Rodman from the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

On June 19, Warmbier died, just six days removed from his return to the United States after spending 17 months in captivity in North Korea. The University of Virginia student was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor last year after being accused of stealing a propaganda poster from his hotel in Pyongyang during his visit to the country. During his confinement, Warmbier reportedly fell into a coma for a year.  

In their Change.org petition, the VOC points out the close relationship shared between Rodman and North Korea leader Kim Jong-Un, who the organization says has "blood on his hands" in light of Warmbier's death. "Former NBA star and Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman has embraced North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un as a 'friend for life' and asserted 'I love him' as he defended his human rights record," the petition says. "Rodman continued this one-man PR campaign for North Korea even as his fellow American Otto Warmbier fought for his life."

The VOC indicates that Rodman should get the boot because a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame can be removed if he or she "has damaged the integrity of the game of basketball." With nearly 900 supporters, the petition is closing in on their goal of 1,000 signatures. 

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