Former NBA star Dennis Rodman apologized Thursday for his much-criticized outburst about an American citizen imprisoned in North Korea, saying he was stressed out and had been drinking when he made the remarks on CNN.

Dennis Rodman sings "Happy Birthday" to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un before an exhibition basketball game in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Wednesday, January 8. In his latest round of "basketball diplomacy," Rodman made his fourth visit to North Korea, one of the world's most totalitarian states, to participate in a basketball game between a team of North Koreans and <a href='http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/06/politics/gallery/nba-in-north-korea/index.html' target='_blank'>a team of former NBA players</a>.
Image: AP

The eccentric basketball veteran is in North Korea for a controversial visit that has been rife with bizarre moments, including Rodman’s rendition of “Happy Birthday” to the country’s leader Kim Jong Un at a packed sports stadium on Wednesday.

In an exclusive interview Tuesday with Chris Cuomo of CNN’s “New Day,” Rodman provoked outrage by appearing to suggest that Kenneth Bae, who has been held in North Korea since 2012, may have done something to deserve his sentence of 15 years of hard labor.

“I want to first apologize to Kenneth Bae’s family,” Rodman, 52, said Thursday in a statement released by his publicist Jules Feiler. “I want to apologize to my teammates and my management team. I also want to apologize to Chris Cuomo.”

Bae’s family had said they were shocked by Rodman’s comments about the captive American.

“He was in a position to do some good and to help advocate for Kenneth,” Bae’s sister, Terri Chung, said Tuesday. “He refused to do so. But then instead he has chosen to hurl these outrageous accusations against Kenneth. He clearly doesn’t know anything about Kenneth, about his case. And so we were appalled by that.”

Rodman attributed his outburst to stress.

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