‘Sorry I wasn’t the Dad you wanted me to be’: Dennis Rodman apologizes to daughter Trinity after she says he wasn’t a father

(CNN) — Five-time NBA champion Dennis Rodman has apologized to his daughter, Olympic gold medal-winning soccer player Trinity Rodman, after she criticized him for being absent for much of her life in the Call Her Daddy podcast.

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

CNN attempted to contact Dennis Rodman for comment but the former Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls star posted a public apology to his daughter on Instagram shortly after the podcast episode was published.

“Sorry I wasn’t the Dad you wanted me to be but either way I still tried and I still try and never will stop,” he wrote on Instagram. “I will keep trying even when you’re being told as an adult not to respond to my phone calls. I will try even when it’s difficult and if it takes a long time.

“I’m always here and tell you all the time – rather it’s your voice or voicemail – how proud I am. I always had one wish and it was I wish my kids would call me and come see me. Hopefully one day I can get that. I’m here and I’m still trying pick up the phone you have my number. You see me calling, I’m still here.”

Former NBA star Dennis added that he watches Trinity play soccer “all the time” and once flew to watch a game but ended up watching from his hotel balcony after being told not to show up because of who he was with.

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

“We had (a Ford) Expedition and we kind of lived in that for a little bit,” she said. “We tried to live with him, but he’s having parties 24/7, he is bringing random b*tches in. He loves the spotlight. He loves the cameras.

“Before the divorce (from Trinity’s mother Michelle Moyer in 2012) happened, my dad was actually helping money wise,” she continued. “He would actually give money to my mom and let us kind of live life a little bit, but then when the divorce happened, it was just like, ‘F**k you guys.’

“I think he’s an extremely selfish human being,” 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 which took gold at the Paris Olympics this year, contributing three goals and one assist, including an extra-time winner in the quarterfinals against Japan.

When she was drafted by the Washington Spirit at 18 years old in 2021, she became the youngest player ever drafted into the NWSL at the time. That season, Dennis turned up unannounced to the Spirit’s playoffs quarterfinal match against the North Carolina Courage, having not spoken to his daughter in months.

“When he showed up at my game, I was, like, so mad,” remembered the Spirit forward. “I started crying on the field. So I’m trying to play the soccer game and I’m crying.”

The Spirit won the game 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 from me. You f**ked with my head again,’” she said. “I’m walking over there (towards Dennis) so mad, like ‘F**k you.’ I walk over there, he grabs my head and I just start bawling into his arms as if it’s a daddy-daughter (moment).”

The resulting embrace went viral, and Trinity released an Instagram post in which she expressed hope that their relationship might improve.

“After that, radio silence. I didn’t see him for, like… until this year,” she told Call Her Daddy host Cooper. “Stupid me for thinking that was gonna be some type of new spark. That was me every single time. He would come around, and I’d be like ‘Okay, here it is again. We’re gonna start something. He’s gonna be around.’ Boom, months and months and months (without speaking to him). This time, it was years.

“I think after that was when I lost hope in 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 did not meet his own father until 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 never had anyone to ever do that for me.”

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