U.S. soccer star Trinity Rodman is at Wimbledon.
Her father is not.
But that hasn’t stopped his name — Dennis Rodman — from coming up during coverage of the prestigious tennis tournament, which she has been attending in support of her boyfriend, Ben Shelton.
On Monday, after Shelton defeated Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (1), 7-5 to advance to the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the first time, Rodman took to her Instagram Story to express her frustration about the matter.
“For Ben’s matches he has his family there as his support system, which includes his dad,” wrote Rodman, who is often shown on the broadcast sitting in the stands with Shelton’s parents and his sister, Emma. “my dads not even in MY life no need to bring him up during HIS matches when I don’t even want him talked about during mine. It’s him and his loved ones’ moment. Thank you.”
Named the NWSL rookie of the year in 2021, Rodman helped the Washington Spirit win its first league championship the same season. She also has made a name for herself with the U.S. women’s national team, scoring three goals during the squad’s run to Olympic gold last year in Paris.
Rodman has made no secret of the fact that her father — a five-time NBA champion and basketball Hall of Famer — has not been a constant presence in her life. She spoke before the Olympics about his pattern of showing up occasionally — as he did for a 2021 NWSL playoff game — and then disappearing once again from her everyday life.
“Like I’ve said before, I’ve gotten closure with it all,” Rodman said at the time. “I know he’s proud of me. I truly do. He has his own things to deal with, but at the end of the day, he’s communicated to me that he knows I was going to be here, and that’s all I need.”
In December, Rodman spoke more about her complicated relationship with her father and the “anger” she often feels toward him.
“He’s not a dad,” Rodman said. “Maybe by blood but nothing else.”
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