Trinity Rodman opens up about strained relationship with father and former NBA star Dennis Rodman

CNN
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Trinity Rodman, the Olympic gold medal-winning soccer player and daughter of five-time NBA champion Dennis Rodman, has criticized her father for being absent for most of her life in Call her dad podcast.

“He’s not a father. Maybe by blood, but nothing else,” she told host Alex Cooper. “Hearing his voice is painful.”

CNN has attempted to contact Dennis Rodman for comment.

Despite the fact that her father reportedly earned more than $27 million in salary across his NBA career, per SpotRacTrinity explained that at one point she had been forced to live in a car.

“We had (a Ford) Expedition and we kind of lived in it for a little bit,” she said. “We tried to live with him, but he parties 24/7, has random arguments. He loves the limelight. He loves the cameras.

“Before the divorce (from Trinity’s mother Michelle Moyer in 2012) happened, my dad actually helped out financially,” she continued. “He actually wanted to give money to my mom and let us live life a little, but when the divorce happened, it was just like, ‘F**k you.’

“I think he’s an extremely selfish person,” she added. “I think everything has always been about him.”

Trinity has 10 goals and nine assists in 45 appearances for the US Women’s National Team (USWNT). She was one of the stars of the team that took gold at the Paris Olympics this year, contributing three goals and one assist, including an overtime winner in the quarter-finals against Japan.

When she was drafted by the Washington Spirit as an 18-year-old in 2021, she became one youngest player ever drafted into the NWSL then. That season, Dennis showed up unannounced to the Spirit’s playoff quarterfinal game against the North Carolina Courage after not speaking to his daughter in months.

“When he showed up to my game, I was like so mad,” the Spirit forward recalled. “I started crying on the pitch. So I try to play football and I cry.”

The Spirit won the match 1-0 and went on to claim the NWSL title, but Trinity was furious with her father.

“I was so mad. I was like, ‘You took this happy moment away from me. You messed with my head again,'” she said. “I go over there (to Dennis) so mad, like, ‘F**k you.’ I go over there, he grabs my head and I just start howling in his arms like it’s a father-daughter ( moment).

The resulting embrace went viral, and Trinity released one Instagram posts where she expressed hope that their relationship could improve.

“Then radio silence. I didn’t see him for, like … until this year,” she told Call Her Daddy host Cooper. “Silly me because I thought it was going to be some kind of new spark. It was me every single time. He’d come around and I’d be like, ‘Okay, here we go again. We’re starting something. He will be around.’ Boom, months and months and months (without talking to him). This time it was years.

“I think that’s when I lost hope of ever getting him back.”

Dennis met Trinity’s mother, Michelle Moyer, in 1999. Trinity’s brother – Dennis “DJ” Jr. – was born in 2001, followed a year later by Trinity. The couple married in 2003 before Moyer filed for divorce in 2004. After a period of reconciliation, they finalized the divorce in 2012.

The seven-time NBA rebounding champion, who first met his own father in his late 30s, has previously spoken out about his desire to be a better parent.

“For some reason, it’s very hard for me to break out of that cycle,” he told ESPN in 2019. “I’ve never had anyone do that for me.”