NBA legend Dennis Rodman was a trendsetter during his time in the league. With eccentric haircuts and bold outfits, an entire generation looked up to Rodman. This made many wonder what Rodman was like outside the limelight. The Worm was always popular with the ladies and he had numerous failed relationships with popular names like Madonna. Rodman also had children from the relationships he had had. His eldest daughter, Alexis Rodman, had a troubled relationship with her father growing up. Although she feels that the Worm is a great person now, the situation when she was young was entirely different.

Rodman and his then-wife, Annie Bakes, were going through a rough phase in their marriage. The two eventually split and this affected Alexis badly. Her father’s absence was detrimental to Alexis’ development, which later made Rodman contemplate and reveal his feelings behind it all.

Rodman’s daughter was affected by her father’s absence 

Five-time NBA champion Dennis Rodman and his relationships created a lot of buzz in the 1990s. He dated the likes of Madonna and Carmen Electra and it is safe to say, the stories about the Chicago Bulls legend that ran rampant in the media doesn’t make him a model father. 

Rodman divorced his first wife, Annie Bakes while their daughter only was nine years old and their split naturally affected her. “Alexis also keeps saying to kids at school: ‘My daddy has girlfriends,’ and, `My daddy doesn’t come to see me'”, said Annie Bakes during a 1997 interview.

Moreover, all the tension back at home agitated Alexis Rodman. She hit a girl during a basketball game and her anger management issues went out of hand. Alexis sought medical attention and attended anger management sessions to control her intense emotions. 

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Despite all the trouble she went through as a child, Alexis Rodman has no hard feelings toward Dennis Rodman. In ESPN’s Dennis Rodman: For Better or Worse, Alexis called her father a “really beautiful person”. 

Dennis Rodman addressed his troubled parenting once

Despite all his successes on the basketball court, the Chicago Bulls legend had a troubled personal life. His father left him when he was only three years old and this definitely impacted him. In fact, Rodman blamed his father’s absence for his own troubles. 

During an interview with ESPN in 2019, he said, “I never had anyone who wanted to [be a dad] for me and I think sometimes, ‘Why am I doing it for somebody else?'”

Philander Rodman, the NBA legend’s father left his then-wife for another woman. After numerous trips to jail and a failed career in the military, Philander settled in the Philippines.

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