Trinity Rodman lets rip at fame-hungry, 'alcoholic' dad Dennis and claims he is only her father 'by blood'

Dennis Rodman wasn't really a father to daughter Trinity, she confessed in a heartbreaking interview with Call Her Daddy host Alex Cooper. Rather, the five-time NBA champion's interest in being a parent was practically non-existent when the cameras weren't around.

'He's not a dad,' Trinity, the 22-year-old soccer star and Olympic gold medalist told Cooper. 'Maybe by blood, but nothing else.

'We tried to live with him,' she added, likely referring to herself and brother DJ. 'But he's having parties 24/7, bringing random b****es in. He loves the spotlight'

Much of Cooper's interview centered on the 63-year-old Dennis and his frequent absences from Trinity's life.

The elder Rodman was, of course, known just as much for partying as he was for defense and rebounding over two decades in professional basketball. But when he finally stepped away from the game after a stint with a British team in 2006, Dennis didn't slow down and has since sought treatment for alcohol abuse.

Speaking with Cooper, Trinity didn't hesitate to call her father an 'alcoholic.' But for all the drama surrounding Dennis' personal life, Trinity said she still felt a need to protect his public image, as tarnished as it was.

'We never want to make him look bad,' Trinity told Cooper. 'And that is at the cost of kind of holding in a lot. I guess it's just like the anger that I haven't really been able to let out is, like, difficult for me.'

Dennis was noticeably absent from Trinity's games, albeit for one NWSL quarterfinal in 2021.

The problem was, the Worm didn't tell anyone he'd be attending, as the Washington Spirit star recalled.

'He showed up to my game, I was like so mad,' Trinity said. 'My mom had no idea until he was like, there. And I think she got a call or something. But they were in a suite, field side. And again, going in my rookie year, going into a quarterfinal, I'm already s***ing my pants as it is. I'm stressed, like, ''Oh my gosh, we have to win.''

'We go, I'm playing… and I hear it,' said Trinity, who hadn't seen her father for months prior to this. 'And his voice to me is like (makes high-pitched ringing noise) so I hear him go: ''Let's go Rodman, let's go Trinity.''

'And I'm like, ''oh my f***ing gosh.'' Like, there's no way this is happening right now.'

Trinity soon found herself crying on the field as teammates huddled for a water break. Her absentee father was suddenly consuming her thoughts during the biggest game of her young career.

Teammate and close friend Ashley Sanchez quickly noticed the problem.

'And she knew immediately,' Trinty continued. 'She was like, ''Oh f***.' She gave me a hug, she was like, ''It's OK. Let's just finish this half, we'll talk in the locker room at halftime. Just finish this half. Don't think about it.''

'I was like, ''Sure, let me just forget,''' Trinity laughed. 'Easy advice.'

Washington ended up winning the game, but headlines afterwards centered around an emotional moment she shared with Dennis following the final whistle.

The image of Dennis hugging Trinity went viral, as did her post-match comments about her hopes for their relationship.

But the reality of the situation was far different.

'The whistle blew and I was so mad. I was like: ''You took this happy moment from me. You f***ed with my head again,''' she told Cooper. 'And he did it so many times. I think he knows what he does.'

But when she went to confront Dennis, her 6-foot-8 father pulled her towards him and offered a fatherly hug.

'I walk over there, he grabs my head and I just start balling into his arms as if it's like a daddy-daughter, like...' Trinity said, trailing off.

Dennis did offer to connect with her in Washington.

'He was like, ''I want to see you soon, I'm in DC,'' she said. 'I was like, 'OK.' And after that, radio silence. I didn't seem him again until like, this year. I didn't talk to him or see him until, I think, right after the World Cup.'

Again, Trinity felt foolish for hoping to have a relationship with Dennis.

'Stupid me for thinking that was going to be some new spark,' she said. 'That was me every single time. He would come around, I would be like: ''OK, here it is again. We're going to start something. He's going to be around.' Boom, months and months and months. This time it was years. And I was just like, OK, cool.'

These days, Trinity doesn't even have her father's number, in part, because it's always changing, but also because she doesn't feel pressured to keep track of it.

Dennis has tried to reach out, but Trinity isn't exactly waiting on him.

'He had called me, even these past couple of weeks, he has been trying to call me,' she said. 'And it was a Texas number. Didn't know he lived in Texas. So that's news to me.'