Along with the accolades, he also garnered the hardware, winning consecutive championship rings as part of Detroit Piston’s infamous Bad Boys in 1989 and 1990, and three consecutive rings with arguably the best team in NBA history, the ‘Chicago Bulls from the 90s. A different race on the court, Rodman was from a different planet off the court. Known as much for his constantly changing hair color and controversial antics as his work, Rodman became a famous influencer before anyone knew what social media was.
But as the great NBA philosopher Dennis Rodman once said, “Don’t let what other people think decide who you are.” So tie them together and dig deep into Dennis Rodman’s man, myth, legend, and untold truth.
Dennis Rodman is friends with the homeless.
China Photos / Getty ImagesDuring a 1990 interview with The New York Times , Dennis Rodman, then 29, spoke about his difficult education and the poverty that comes with it. He remembered the bus tables at a Dallas restaurant that made “$ 60 a night” and thought he was making a lot of money. At the time of the article’s publication, Rodman was two years on a four-year, $ 2.6 million contract with the Detroit Pistons and felt the need to give back in the Rodman way.
He recalled a time when he found himself walking back from a Chicago restaurant with his teammates and seeing a homeless pregnant woman with two young children. “I had $ 250 in my pocket and I gave it my all,” Rodman said. If I had $ 1,000, I would have given you that, too. There are many people out there who are more worthy of this money. Homeless people. People who live on the street. I was lucky to find this, what I have now «.
This was not an isolated incident. The former NBA star regularly did the same for Detroit’s homeless. “I gave a lot of money to the homeless this year. I go to downtown Detroit and give $ 50 or $ 100, “he said. »You cannot help everyone, but you can help some people. I make millions now. What is $ 250?
Does Dennis Rodman really know what a Mormon is?
Stephen Lovekin / Getty ImagesDuring the 1997 NBA Finals, the Chicago Bulls defended their title from the Utah Jazz. Dennis Rodman was not playing well during game three of seven, and when asked by reporters about his performance, the power forward gave an inflammatory excuse. “It’s hard to sync because of all the Mormons (expletives) here,” Rodman said (via Associated Press ). “And you can quote me on that.”
As expected, Rodman’s comments did not go well. The Salt Lake City NAACP branch said they were “outraged by the callous and derogatory comments,” and the Anti-Defamation League lobbied the NBA to take action, and they did. Rodman was fined $ 50,000, the largest fine in NBA history at the time.
«It was a bad action on my part. So we backtracked, “Rodman said after the fine was issued, adding that he had no intention of insulting a religion, only Utah Jazz fans.” People were giving me the finger. and things like that, “he said. In a somewhat funny statement, Bulls head coach Phil Jackson said Rodman probably didn’t know what a Mormon was. “For Dennis, a Mormon can be a nickname for the people of Utah,” he said. “You may not even know it’s a religious sect or sect or whatever.”
The unique way in which a former teammate earned the confidence of Dennis Rodman
Robin Marchant / Getty ImagesAfter the Detroit Pistons traded him to the San Antonio Spurs in 1993, Dennis Rodman struggled to connect with his new teammates. In a 1995 interview with The New York Times , former Spurs reservation center Jack Haley explained how he became Rodman’s Whisperer. “Dennis won’t speak,” said Haley. “And when I say he won’t speak, I mean, he really won’t speak to anyone else on the team, even on any kind of basketball question. Maybe just a one-word answer. He will not answer his calls. “They try to ask him questions and he just sits there. So that’s where I came in. ”
Haley didn’t give up on the mercurial star, and after trying to talk to Rodman for three straight weeks in the locker room, they “slowly began to communicate” about their shared love of basketball during practice and games. “So one night he and his girlfriend asked my wife and I if we wanted to go get a drink and he took us to a gay bar,” Haley told the store, adding, “I think he wanted to try to surprise me, look how straight and narrow it was. They had male dancers, you know? So I surprised him and gave the boy a dollar in his thong. ”
The two became inseparable and Haley helped her coach communicate with Rodman: “I told him that the number one way to deal with Dennis is to be direct with him.”
Penny Marshall was one of Dennis Rodman’s good friends
Frederick M. Brown, Larry Busacca / Getty ImagesWho would have thought that Dennis Rodman and the director of Grande and His Own League would be good friends? But they were! Penny Marshall was truly a huge Rodman fan who was working on a documentary about the legendary rebounder at the time of his death in 2018.
According to Hollywood reporter Marshall, he took on the directing duties and filmed the documentary “once in a while” between 2012 and 2016, interviewing “dozens” of people in Rodman’s orbit. Eventually the project ran out of money and Marshall’s health deteriorated. “Penny did not want to make a movie about this madman who flew to North Korea,” said editor Keita Ideno. “She wanted people to know who Dennis Rodman really was.” Marshall reportedly agreed to direct the documentary after being concerned about his friend’s descent into alcoholism and the increasingly deranged television appearances.
The film’s first director, Russell LaFreniere, who switched to a producer role after Marshall replaced him, explained Marshall’s decision to direct the project. “She always said she was addicted to madness,” she said. “I think she saw a little of herself in Dennis, she had been through difficult times, too. She really cared about him. And once he appeared in the movie, he opened the doors. He also noted Marshall’s access to Rodman’s high-profile friends, which “was not something [I] could do. »
The commercial side of the NBA was almost too much for Dennis Rodman
Jeff Haynes / Getty ImagesIn a 2019 interview with The Bleach Report , Dennis Rodman spoke about his struggles with depression and discussed his thoughts of suicide in 1993. “I wanted to be loved by someone or someone because I was never loved by my mother or father because they were never there. . So when I got to Detroit, they hugged me as one, “Rodman explained. But after the Bad Boys team was “dismount [d]” and their coach was fired, Rodman hit a low point. ” I was alone. I had no one to turn to, “he said.
Then he gave details about that fateful day. «I wrote a note and went to the parking lot of the Palace. I had a gun rack and a gun in my car. I had it in my hand. But for some reason, I played this music, “he explained. . “It had nothing to do with basketball. It had to do with this love he wanted, and suddenly he left me ».
Rodman fell asleep to the music and when he woke up, “all the cops and everyone” surrounded him. I didn’t know what was going on. I completely forgot I had a gun in my hand, “he explained. “I didn’t expect the NBA to be like this,” he continued. “I didn’t expect teams to just swap players and you say, ‘OK, this is a business,’ and you forget about that. That was what got me to that point.
If you or someone you know has suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Line at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or text the HOME Crisis Text Line at 741741.
Dennis Rodman has many brothers
Ilya S. Savenok / Getty ImagesI haven’t seen him in over 30 years, so what is there to miss? I only see it like this: a man brought me into this world. That doesn’t mean I have a father, ”Rodman wrote of his biological father, Philander Rodman, in his 1996 book Bad As I Want To Be . Speaking to The Washington Post in 1996, Elder Rodman did little to delay that characterization. Then the owner of a bar in the Philippines, Philander claimed to have 27 children “of four different wives and extracurricular activities.”
For 2012, the number of children and wives increased. According to the AP (via CBS News ), Philander had boasted of “29 children by 16 mothers” at the time. Philander also inferred that his infamous son was actually a small chip from the old man’s block. “They think Dennis is bad,” said The Washington Post, adding: “They haven’t been near me … They haven’t seen anything. I am the bad one ». Yikes
Dennis finally reunited with his 71-year-old father at a 2012 exhibition game in the Philippines. “It was great,” Philander told reporters about the meeting (via CBS News). I’ve been trying to meet him for years. And then last night, boom, I met him. I was very, very happy and very surprised. However, the meeting was not like something you would see in a movie. Dennis spent just three minutes with his father while signing autographs for fans.
Carmen Electra had a ‘passionate’ relationship with Dennis Rodman
Steve W. Grayson / Getty ImagesAfter a dizzying romance (and an evening bender in Las Vegas, Nevada), Dennis Rodman married model and beach watchers star Carmen Electra. Less than two weeks later, Rodman filed for an annulment and the couple finalized their divorce six months later. During a 2010 appearance on Oprah Winfrey’s Where Are They Now? Electra discussed her romance and claimed she was in “self-destruction” mode after her mother died of a brain tumor.
She met Rodman soon after. “Dennis was the life of the party,” he said. ” It was fun. I started drinking. People couldn’t understand why they loved him, because he had a reputation for being a bad boy. What I saw at the beginning was this kind of gentle giant. Then they got married and it was instant regret. “It happened very fast,” he said. “And I remember right after, I felt, ‘Oh God, what did we do? What did we just do? ‘ ». She explained that their relationship was “very passionate,” but that came with a downside. “So when it was okay, it was amazing,” he said. “When it was bad, it was the worst.”
Dennis Rodman endorsed Donald Trump
Adek Berry, Mandel Ngan / Getty ImagesDennis Rodman is #MAGA? That seems to be the case. In 2015, the Hall of Fame member endorsed Donald Trump on Twitter, shortly after the reality show host announced his candidacy. “@RealDonaldTrump has been a great friend for many years,” Rodman wrote . “We don’t need another politician, we need a businessman like Mr. Trump! Trump 2016 ». To which Trump replied , “Thank you @DennisRodman. It’s time for #MakeAmericaGreatAgain! I hope you are well! »
This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise as Rodman appeared on the real estate mogul’s show, The Apprentice . Trump also had nothing but praise for Rodman and his relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Rodman befriended the despot, who loved the 90s championship Chicago Bulls, after a 2013 trip to North Korea “to organize basketball shows” (by Clutch Points ) during a 2013 Fox interview News (via Politico ) , Trump said: «You look at the world, the world is exploding around us. Maybe Dennis is much better than what we have. It is not an act. But he is a very different type and this year the apprentice continues – It is surprising how sharp and intelligent. Dennis is not a stupid guy. He is intelligent in many ways; It is very stray «.
Fun fact: Rodman was fired The Apprentice after his team misspelled Melania Trump.
Madonna made Dennis Rodman an offer she couldn’t refuse
Frederick M. Brown, Stephen Lovekin / Getty ImagesDennis Rodman and pop icon Madonna had a brief affair in 1994, and while most people erased it from their memory, Rodman’s time with Madonna gave us a story forever. During a 2019 interview at The Breakfast Club , Rodman claimed that the “Material Girl” singer offered her $ 20 million if he could get her pregnant.
“She said, ‘Dennis, you know I’m ovulating,'” Rodman said of the call she received while playing in Las Vegas. “I said, ‘What is that?’ I was trying to fuck with her, right? Then he said to the music legend, “I’ll be there in five hours.” Rodman flew to Manhattan in a private jet that Madonna sent, did the act, and immediately flew back to Las Vegas to finish her game. Imagine the numbers that this man would have put if Instagram was something then.
“She asked me if I got her pregnant she would pay me $ 20 million,” Charlamagne tha God, DJ Envy and Angela Yee told hosts. “That if the baby was born.” When asked if he wanted to get Madonna pregnant, Rodman replied, “Oh, I tried.”
Dennis Rodman went bankrupt
Paul Buck / Getty ImagesIn 2012, Dennis Rodman found himself in legal trouble after falling behind on his spouse and children’s payments to his third wife, Michelle Rodman (via Los Angeles Times ), the amount? “$ 808,935 in child support arrears” and $ 51,441 “in support for late spouses”. Oh. This was all after her child support liability was reduced from $ 50,000 a month to $ 5,000.
However, according to his attorney Linnea Willis (who worked pro bono), Rodman was barely able to cover his own expenses at the time. “Defendant Dennis Rodman is bankrupt and cannot pay any additional fees,” the court documents read. Willis also claimed that Rodman was “extremely ill.” The illness? Rodman’s struggle with alcoholism. Rodman’s manager Darren Prince told ABC News that the basketball legend had a “well-documented drinking problem” not helped by the divorce and the inability to see his children. “As people know, it is a daily fight,” Prince continued. “It has good days and bad days and good weeks and bad weeks.”
Willis said in a statement that “the world’s richest celebrities” would not be forced to pay $ 50,000 in child support and accused Michelle’s attorney of conducting “a smear campaign” against Rodman, who had never stopped paying at least some amount of support before. Without his NBA salary, Rodman generates income through endorsements and personal appearances. “He’s not suffering, compared to retired athletes, with what he does, but he’s certainly not doing what he did when he was paying with the Bulls,” Prince said.
