Is Trinity Rodman related to Dennis Rodman? Family, father, mother of USA Women's Olympic soccer star

Zac Al-Khateeb

Is Trinity Rodman related to Dennis Rodman? Family, father, mother of USA Women's Olympic soccer star image

U.S. fans with even a passing knowledge of the 1980s- and '90s-era NBA will see a familiar name on the national team at the 2024 Olympics.

But Trinity Rodman is much more than the daughter of a basketball legend. She has carved her own path as one of the top players in her sport — mostly without the help of her father.

Rodman is not only an up-and-coming star on the national team, she also is one of the rising stars in U.S. soccer. She became the youngest player drafted in NWSL history when the Washington Spirit chose her second overall in 2021 when she was 18.

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She not only earned NWSL Rookie of the Year that year, she also helped the Spirit win their first league title. She will aim to replicate that stateside success on the international stage as she and her USWNT teammates take on the world in Paris. 

While Rodman acknowledges the athletic prowess she inherited from her father, she also has said they are not always on the best of terms. Here's everything you need to know about their relationship, as well as the rest of the family ties:

Is Trinity Rodman related to Dennis Rodman?

Trinity Rodman's father is Dennis Rodman, a 2011 inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Dennis Rodman won five NBA Finals, made two NBA All-Star teams, was twice named NBA Defensive Player of the Year and was seven times the NBA leader in rebounds.

Dennis Rodman played in the NBA from 1989 through 2000. He won his first two NBA Finals in 1989 and 1990 with the "Bad Boy" Pistons. He played for the Spurs from 1993 through 1995 before joining Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Phil Jackson for the Bulls' second three-peat from 1996 through 1998.

He finished his NBA career with the Mavericks in 2000 after a brief stint with the Lakers in 1999, but he played for various non-NBA teams through 2006.

Trinity Rodman has credited her father for her athleticism, also telling Yahoo Sports that she watched his highlights from the 1990s for moves she could add to her soccer repertoire. But their relationship is frayed, with Dennis being absent for much of her childhood, both emotionally and financially.

In 2021, Trinity Rodman shared insight into their relationship after they were pictured hugging at an NWSL game. The soccer star said that her dad's presence sparked conflicting emotions and was a rare appearance by him.

This last game was an extremely emotional one. Yes Dennis Rodman showed up to an NWSL game, but also my dad, after YEARS surprised me at a big game in my career, I was shocked, overwhelmed, happy, sad, everything. My dad doesn’t play a big role in my life at all and most people don’t know that, we don’t see eye to eye on many things.

I go months if not years without his presence or communication. Being in spotlights has been hard for us, him and me. We don’t have the best relationship, but at the end of the day he’s human, I’m human. … He’s my dad, and I’m his little girl that will never change. I will improve and look forward everyday as I hope he does.

Who is Trinity Rodman's mother?

Trinity Rodman is the daughter of Michelle Moyer, who is Dennis Rodman's third wife, following Annie Bakes and Carmen Electra. Rodman and Electra were married for 82 days.

Moyer is mother to Trinity, older brother DJ Rodman, and Yana Lima, a child from a previous marriage. She married Rodman in May 2003 and filed for divorce in 2004. They remained legally married until 2012, when she filed for divorce again.

Per Yahoo Sports, Moyer played a significant role in helping Trinity become one of the premier soccer players in the United States.

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Despite receiving little financial support from Dennis Rodman — and while caring for three children — Moyer allowed her youngest daughter to get a membership to 24-Hour Fitness, which helped the then-16-year-old budding soccer star flourish.

Per Yahoo Sports, Trinity Rodman combined her access to the gym with workout regimens curated from social media to help her develop, physically and mentally, into one of the premier soccer talents in the country.

She said she inherited "everything" from her mother, whom she has described as her biggest supporter and closest confidante.

Who is Trinity Rodman's brother?

Trinity Rodman's brother is 22-year-old DJ Rodman, who, like his father, has made a name for himself in basketball. DJ Rodman graduated in 2019 from JSerra Catholic School (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), where he was rated as a two-star prospect and the 112th-best small forward in the country per 247Sports' Composite rankings.

DJ Rodman played at Washington State from 2019-23. He appeared in 111 games for the Courgars (42 starts). For his career, he averaged 5.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game and shot 39.9 percent from the field.

MORE: A full schedule of matches for men's and women's soccer at the 2024 Summer Olympics

 

His best season came as a senior. He averaged 9.6 points and 5.8 rebounds in 31 games (30 starts) in 2022-23. He finished second on the team with 180 rebounds, and he shot 38.1 percent on 3-point attempts. He transferred to USC for his final season of eligibility, announcing the move on May 10.

Who is Trinity Rodman's sister?

Trinity Rodman's half-sister is 35-year-old Alexis Rodman, the daughter of Dennis Rodman and his first wife, Annie Bakes. Like Trinity, Alexis Rodman has not always had the best relationship with her father, as he himself told ESPN ahead of the 2019 release of the documentary "Rodman: For Better or Worse."

"It's hard for me. It's very hard for me to try to break out of that cycle," he said. "It's just one of those things where I never had anyone to ever do that (be a dad) for me and I think sometimes, 'Why am I doing it for somebody else?'"

Dennis Rodman shared in a 2013 segment of "Oprah: Where Are They now?" that he had just met his daughter Alexis, then 24, for the first time in years.

Alexis Rodman is married to Robert Bunfill, with whom they share a son, Vincent.

Zac Al-Khateeb

Zac Al-Khateeb Photo

Zac Al-Khateeb has been part of The Sporting News team since 2015 after earning his Bachelor's (2013) and Master's (2014) degrees in journalism at the University of Alabama. Prior to joining TSN, he covered high school sports and general news in Alabama. A college sports specialist, Zac has been a voter for the Biletnikoff Award and Heisman Trophy since 2020.