Dennis Rodman has apologized for his comments about an American missionary detained in the DPRK, saying he had been drinking and was under pressure.

The former basketball star issued an apology in an email message to the Associated Press on Thursday. In the message, Rodman said he took full responsibility for his actions in an earlier interview with CNN, and his dreams of basketball diplomacy was quickly falling apart.

In Tuesday’s live interview from the DPRK, Rodman burst out when asked about the detention of Kenneth Bae and implied Bae had done something wrong. Rodman’s apology came a day after he sang "Happy Birthday" to DPRK leader Kim Jong Un at the start of a friendly basketball game. He had been slammed for not using his influence with Kim to help free the missionary Kenneth Bae, who is being confined in the DPRK for "anti-state" crimes.