Trinity Rodman opens up about difficult relationship with dad Dennis: ‘He’s never once protected us’
Washington Spirit and U.S. women’s national team forward Trinity Rodman said she is ready to set the record straight on her relationship with her father, NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman, saying, “Our entire family is protecting him when he’s never once protected us.”
“Why have I been so nice about someone who’s so selfish?” Rodman asked on the latest episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast. “He’s almost made it worse because he has put us in the public light at a young age. … So the anger that I haven’t really been able to let out is difficult for me.”
Rodman has answered questions about her father before but with great care. As this week’s guest on “Call Her Daddy,” she answered the questions on a platform much larger than her typical interviews and addressed how her father has not been actively involved in her life and how their difficult relationship has affected her.
Dennis has attended one of his daughter’s professional games — the Spirit’s quarterfinal playoff game in 2021 — and Rodman hadn’t known her dad would show up.
She described on “Call Her Daddy” how she hadn’t seen or heard from her father in months, which caused her to get emotional on the field with him in attendance. During a huddle, she leaned on friend and then-teammate Ashley Sanchez, and at halftime, her coach asked if she wanted to sit out. But Rodman wanted to play.
After the game, despite her anger, she ended up crying in Dennis’ arms in front of the crowd and cameras.
“The whistle blew and I was so mad, like, ‘You took this happy moment from me. You f—– with my head again,’” Rodman said.
The Spirit went on to win their first NWSL Championship two games later and Rodman won Rookie of the Year. What has followed is a series of successes across NWSL and the U.S. women’s national team.
Rodman went to her first World Cup in 2023 and was a headliner as part of the USWNT’s “Triple Espresso” with Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Rodman scored three goals on the team’s path to gold and recently helped the Spirit reach the NWSL final, where they fell to the Orlando Pride.
During the Olympics, Rodman received numerous questions about her dad and tried to shift the focus to how her mom, Michelle Moyer, came to support her.
Rodman explained on “Call Her Daddy” that she gets asked in interviews if her dad will attend her games or how he felt about moments in her career, but she doesn’t know the answers, which was part of her motivation to go on the podcast presented by Alex Cooper.
“And I feel like I’ve tried to make it obvious that I don’t know. I don’t know how he’s feeling. I don’t know where he is,” Rodman said. “So for my own sanity, getting those questions, it frustrates me.”
Dennis spent 14 seasons in the NBA and won five championships between the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls, two Defensive Player of the Year awards and a spot on the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. He was a staple in the historic 1997-98 Bulls season, and he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.
Trinity and her brother, Dennis “DJ” Jr., attended his induction ceremony. During his speech, Dennis said his one regret from his career is he wished he was a better father.
Trinity was 9 and DJ was 10 at the time. When asked about the moment on “Call Her Daddy,” Rodman rolled her eyes.
“Do I believe him? Yeah, I do believe that he wishes that he could fight his demons,” Rodman said. “I roll my eyes because you hear something so many times but he does nothing to change it.
“The most frustrating part about it is that I think with how successful he was and how rich he was, he was surrounded by a lot of toxic people who would take his money and take advantage of him. … We tried to be that foundation and to be the good people around him.”
When talking about her current relationship with Dennis on the podcast, Rodman said she picks up the phone for his sake, not hers.
“He’s not a dad,” Rodman said. “Maybe by blood, but nothing else.”
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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