Trinity Rodman’s name is synonymous with soccer brilliance: Olympic gold medals, NWSL championships, and a meteoric rise as the face of the USWNT. But behind her athletic prowess lies a family story that’s equal parts heartbreaking and inspiring. One half of her parents, her father Dennis Rodman, is an NBA Hall of Famer, a basketball rebel whose off-court antics were as legendary as his rebounds. Yet, when it comes to fatherhood, his presence in Trinity’s life has been more ghost than a guardian.
The Shadow of a Legend: Dennis Rodman’s Complicated Legacy
Dennis and Trinity’s relationship is, in her own words, nonexistent beyond blood. “He’s not a dad. Maybe by blood, but nothing else,” she said on the Call Her Daddy podcast, a sentiment she’s repeated multiple times. The NBA star’s parenting style, if you can call it that, was marked by control, inconsistency, and long stretches of silence. Trinity recalls growing up with a father who’d rather swipe his credit card on shopping sprees than hand her $100 for In-N-Out with friends. He’d make grand, camera-ready appearances, like showing up unannounced at her 2021 NWSL playoff game after months of no contact, only to vanish again, leaving her emotionally wrecked on the field.
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Money was another battleground. Despite earning $27 million during his NBA career, Dennis allegedly cut off financial support after his divorce from Trinity’s mom, Michelle Moyer, in 2012. At one point, Trinity, her brother DJ, and Michelle lived out of a Ford Expedition, bouncing between motels when they could scrape together cash. Dennis’s lifestyle — nonstop parties, revolving-door relationships, and a blatant disregard for stability made cohabitation impossible. “We tried to live with him, but he’s having parties 24/7. He’s bringing random b*tches in,” Trinity revealed.
What stings most, though, is the performative nature of their interactions. Dennis loves the spotlight, loves playing the proud dad in front of cameras, like at his Hall of Fame induction, where he tearfully wished he’d been a better father. Trinity, then just 9, now rolls her eyes at the memory. “You hear something so many times, but he does nothing to change it,” she says. Even his rare phone calls now are painful — his voice slurred, likely from alcoholism, a reminder of the man she misses but can’t rely on.
Michelle Moyer: The Unseen Force Behind Trinity’s Success
If Dennis is the absent figurehead, Michelle Moyer is the foundation. A former track athlete herself, Michelle raised Trinity and DJ largely alone, navigating homelessness, evictions, and the emotional whiplash of Dennis’s sporadic involvement. “She’s my role model,” Trinity has said repeatedly, crediting her mother’s relentless strength for shaping her into the woman and athlete she is today.
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Michelle’s perseverance is staggering. After divorcing Dennis, she worked multiple jobs to keep the family afloat, all while shielding her kids from the worst of their struggles. “She made every situation seem smoother than it actually was,” Trinity Rodman recalls, describing how Michelle would downplay their hardships to protect them. That grit clearly rubbed off — Trinity’s explosive speed on the field? That’s all Michelle. Her mental toughness? Learned from a mom who refused to let adversity define her children’s futures.
The bond between them is unshakable. While Dennis flits in and out like a celebrity guest star, Michelle has been a constant, cheering at games, offering life advice, and even becoming a viral sensation herself at Wimbledon 2025, where she supported Trinity’s boyfriend, tennis star Ben Shelton. Unlike Dennis, Michelle understands what it means to put family first. “At the end of the day, family is always going to be there,” Trinity told the San Francisco Chronicle, a direct nod to her mother’s influence.
The Latest Chapter: Trinity’s Boundaries and Ben Shelton’s Spotlight
Once again can the media leave Trinity Rodman alone and stop bringing up her dad for everything lol pic.twitter.com/t28O7a4zrk
— Key 👻🖤🏆 (@Frejoregui) July 7, 2025
Fast-forward to July 2025, and Trinity Rodman’s making headlines again, this time for shutting down a Wimbledon commentator who dared to bring up Dennis during her boyfriend Ben Shelton’s matches. “My dad’s not even in MY life,” she fired off on Instagram Stories. “No need to bring him up during HIS matches when I don’t even want him talked about during mine.” It’s a boundary she’s enforcing more fiercely than ever, refusing to let her father’s shadow dim her or Ben’s moment.
And why should she? At 23, Trinity’s crafted a legacy entirely her own. Dennis may have given her a famous last name, but Michelle gave her the tools to rise above it. The Rodman name will always spark curiosity, but Trinity’s story is no longer defined by the dad who wasn’t there — it’s about the mother who was, and the champion she became in spite of it all.
