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Former NBA star Dennis Rodman has issued an apology after his daughter and Olympic soccer player, Trinity, criticized his parenting skills.
On a recent episode of the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, Trinity called out her father for being absent most of her life.
“He’s not a dad. Maybe by blood, but nothing else,” she said of Dennis Rodman. “Hearing his voice is painful.”
The NBA champion took to Instagram to apologize to his daughter following her podcast appearance.
“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,” Dennis wrote. “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.”
Dennis added that he watches his daughter play soccer "all the time." He detailed a time when he flew to watch Trinity play but ended up watching her game from his hotel balcony after being told to not show up.
During the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, Trinity explained that she once had to live in a car due to her father's habits.
“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,” Trinity 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 led the Team USA soccer team to gold at the Paris Olympics earlier this year. In 2021, Trinity was drafted by the Washington Spirit at 18, making her one of the youngest players to ever be drafted.
In her first season, Dennis showed up to a Spirit game unannounced after not speaking to Trinity in months.
“When he showed up at my game, I was, like, so mad,” Trinity recalled. “I started crying on the field. So I’m trying to play the soccer game and I’m crying.”
“I was so mad. I was like ‘You took this happy moment from me. You f**ked with my head again,’” she continued. “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 father-daughter embrace went viral, prompting Trinity to share a post on Instagram, where she expressed hope that their relationship would improve.
“After that, radio silence. I didn’t see him for, like… until this year,” Trinity said on "Call Her Daddy." “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.”
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