Washington Spirit and USWNT soccer star Trinity Rodman candidly discussed how her father, NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman, and his excessive partying lifestyle have affected her relationship with him.
Trinity, who has become an iconic athlete in her own right after leading U.S. women’s soccer to a gold medal in Paris, appeared in a recent episode of Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast called “The Truth About My Family,” where she opened up about her father’s actions and the unstable environment of her childhood.
“We had an expedition and we kind of lived in that for a little bit,” Trinity told Cooper, as reported by the New York Post. “We tried to live with him but he’s having parties 24/7, he is bringing random b–ches in. He loves the spotlight. He loves the cameras.”
Rodman was a unique figure on and off the court. In the 90s, he embraced a lifestyle of nightlife, women, and partying, particularly during his time playing the league.
A father-daughter reunion
Dennis was married multiple times, including a short stint with actor and model Carmen Electra in the mid-90s. The former NBA player was also married to Trinity’s mother, Michelle Moyer, his third wife. They divorced in 2012, per the Post.
Trinity, now 22, recounted her challenging reunion with her father after he surprised her at a Spirit NWSL playoff game in November 2021. It was her first time seeing him since she hadn’t seen him in months.
“So I’m trying to play this soccer game and I’m crying. … I’m crying. No one knows what the f***’s going on. … And I’m like, ‘Dude, my dad’s here,’” Trinity explained, according to Yahoo! Sports.
She continued, “I finish that half and cry my eyes out in the locker room at halftime. And my coach was like, ‘Do you want to play?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I want to win. Hello?’ And I’m like, ‘He’s not going to take me from winning this either, f*** you!’”
Did Trinity and her father establish a new relationship?
After the victory, Trinity met her father, and the two shared an embrace.
“And then I walk over, and again there’s cameras everywhere. … And all I did was cry,” she said. “I walk over there, he grabs my head and I just start bawling in his arms, as if it’s a daddy-daughter …”
At the time, Trinity hoped for a new relationship with her father, but he disappeared again, and she didn’t speak to him for two years until late 2023, per Yahoo! Sports.
‘He’s not a dad’
Dennis has two other children: daughter Alexis Rodman, 36, and son DJ Rodman, 23. Trinity opened up about her father’s relationship with her and her siblings.
“He treats me the best. I’m, like, still his little princess and I can’t do any wrong. Growing up, he treated my brother like s**t too,” she recalled, per US Weekly, noting that it has affected DJ, leading to his “confident” issues.
Trinity admitted that her strained relationship with her father has changed how she views him.
“He’s not a dad,” she said, per US Weekly. “Maybe by blood but nothing else.”
The star athlete revealed that she tried to offer her father a sense of family, but he never fully embraced it.
“We tried to be that foundation and to be the good people around him. Because in reality, we never really asked for anything unless we really needed it,” Trinity explained. “We just want you. I think for him, he’s never understood the fact, because he’s never experienced it. … He’s never understood that people could actually just want to be around him and to just want to make him happy.”
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