2024 Olympics: Get to Know Soccer Star Trinity Rodman, Daughter of Dennis Rodman and Michelle Moyer
Trinity Rodman is very familiar with the spotlight.
In addition to playing for the USWNT, the soccer star—who is competing in the Paris Olympics as a part of Team USA—comes from sports royalty.
That's right, Trinity is the daughter of NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman, who played alongside basketball legends such as Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen during the Chicago Bulls' championship reign in the '90s.
“With my dad, I’m so thankful," Trinity told the O.C. Register in 2021. "He was an amazing athlete and I got those genes from him."
However, the 22-year-old is "excited to be known as Trinity Rodman and not just Dennis Rodman’s daughter." That's why she resonated with soccer.
“When you’re young, you try a lot of sports," Trinity explained. "Soccer to me, it felt like home, I felt so comfortable playing and I think I noticed at really young age."
She continued, "Soccer has always been embedded in my brain and I can’t stop thinking about it. I just kind of fell in love with the game."
And as Trinity continues to forge her own path at the 2024 Summer Games, most recently helping the U.S. women's soccer team nab a 3-0 victory over Zambia, here is everything to know about athlete.
Who is Olympian Trinity Rodman?
Trinity is a player for the United States women's national soccer team. In addition, she also plays forward for the Washington Spirit of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).
She made her Olympics debut at the 2024 Paris Summer Games.
Who are soccer star Trinity Rodman's parents?
She is the daughter of retired basketball player Dennis Rodman and his ex-wife Michelle Moyer. Dennis and Michelle—who share Trinity and college basketball star Dennis "DJ" Rodman Jr., 23—were married from 2003 to 2012.
Is Trinity Rodman close with her dad Dennis Rodman?
According to Trinity, she and Dennis "don’t have the best relationship," though she is trying to work on it.
"My dad doesn’t play a big role in my life at all and most people don’t know that," she wrote in a November 2021 Instagram post, after Dennis made a surprise appearance at what she called "a big game in my career."
"We don’t see eye to eye on many things," Trinity continued. "I go months if not years without his presence or communication."
Though being in the spotlight "has been hard for us," the soccer player said that "at the end of the day, he’s human, I’m human."
"He’s my dad, and I’m his little girl," she added. "That will never change."
What has Dennis Rodman said about his relationship with daughter Trinity Rodman?
The Detroit Pistons alum agrees with Trinity that they don't have a close relationship.
"I haven’t been a great father," he admitted during his 2019 induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. “I wish I was a better father."
Acknowledging that his ex Michelle "put up with a lot of crap" over the years, Dennis added, "She’s been a mother and a father and I’ve been very much appreciative of what she’s done."
Who are Trinity Rodman's siblings?
In addition to brother DJ, Trinity is half-sister to Alexis Rodman—Dennis' daughter with his first wife Annie Bakes—and Teyana Lima, Michelle's daughter from a relationship prior to her marriage to the NBA star.
Is Trinity Rodman close with her mom Michelle Moyer?
Having been primarily raised by Michelle, the Olympian considers her mom to be a "role model."
"My mom’s been my support system in everything in life and she’s my best friend and my rock," Trinity told The Guardian in 2021. "I don’t think people know how close we are and, even though she wasn’t in the NBA, she has an extremely competitive and driven mindset and she’s an extremely strong woman."
Who is Trinity Rodman's boyfriend?
Trinity is dating Detroit Lions alum Trinity Benson—and yes, she is well aware that they share the same name. When she and the 27-year-old went Instagram official in May, she captioned photos of the two cuddling on a bench, "Trinity squared."
Prior to that relationship, the Olympian dated college basketballer Chris Kuzemka.
What does Trinity Rodman think of her dad Dennis Rodman's colorful hair and style?
While Trinity may not have the closest relationship with Dennis, she does believe he "changed the game" when it came to fashion.
"I think he started that crazy out-there fashion in the NBA," she told Vogue in July. "He kind of also showed the world not to be afraid to express yourself in any type of way, if that’s masculine, if that’s feminine."
Citing his 1997 smiley face hairdo as one of her favorite looks, she noted, "Back then, you would never think that a guy would ever put on a cropped, sparkly, girly tank top."
Trinity added that Dennis' 1996 wedding dress moment "was a freaking statement."
Who else is a part of Team USA? Keep reading to get to know more of the breakout stars...
Simone Biles is the most decorated gymnast in history, full stop. But the 2016 all-around Olympic gold medalist has unfinished business to attend to in Paris after a case of the twisties prompted her to pull out of most events in Tokyo in 2021.
Representing Team USA alongside Biles are Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera.
Longtime women's national soccer team goalie Alyssa Naeher has two World Cup titles, a slew of impressive stats and a big gap in her resume she'd love to fill with Paris gold after the squad's bronze showing in Tokyo.
Sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson was supposed to make her Olympics debut in Tokyo but was sidelined after a positive marijuana test. Now the reigning world champion in the 100 meters, she's a favorite to torch the competition in Paris in her signature event.
Swimmer Katie Ledecky has 10 Olympic medals, seven of them gold, and she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in May. Competing in her fourth Games, the Stanford grad has a chance to become the first female swimmer to win gold four straight times if she dominates once again in the 800 meters.
Olympic soccer requires the men's teams to be all 23-and-younger with three spots allowed for "overage" players—which is why veteran defender Walker Zimmerman thought his dream of playing on this stage ended when the U.S. men failed to qualify in 2016.
"Then as things materialized this year," the 31-year-old told the LA Times, "just getting the opportunity is amazing."
"If you had asked me at the Trials in 2021 if I regretted coming out, I would have said yes," runner Nikki Hiltz told NBC Sports of coming out as trans and nonbinary not long before they failed to qualify for Tokyo.
But Hiltz didn't give up—on their truth or their sport—winning U.S. indoor and outdoor titles in the 1500m in 2023, repeating the indoor feat in 2024 and running a field-leading 3:55.33 to take the women's 1500m at Trials on June 30.
"It's the last day of Pride Month," Hiltz told NBC Sports at the finish line, "and I wanted to run this one for my community."
Tennis champ Coco Gauff, winner of the 2023 U.S. Open, is ranked second in the world heading into Paris. The 20-year-old is making her Olympics debut after a positive COVID test dashed her plans for Tokyo.
Top-ranked in the U.S. and No. 2 in the world, B-boy Victor Montalvo is ready to turn the Olympics on its head as breaking makes its long-awaited debut at the Paris Games.
There's never only one superstar on the U.S. men's basketball team, but four-time NBA champion LeBron James is appearing in what will almost certainly be his last Olympics and he'll be one of Team USA's two designated flagbearers at the July 26 Opening Ceremony.
James told reporters he was "super-appreciative and-super humbled" by the honor.
There's nothing not badass about wheelchair rugby and Chuck Aoki has been a star of the U.S. Paralympic team since London in 2012. With a bronze and two silvers under his belt, winning gold in Paris would really complement his collection.
While Hunter Woodhall is not least known for being long-jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall's supportive other half, the University of Arkansas grad is also a sprinting machine. The two-time Paralympian—and first-ever double-amputee athlete to earn an NCAA Division I scholarship—heads to Paris having dominated in the men's T62 400m and T62 100m at Trials.
Two athletes, but a packaged set as far as beach volleyball is concerned. Louisiana State alums and best friends Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss hadn't even turned pro yet when, in April 2021, Nuss gifted Kloth an ankle bracelet for her birthday inscribed with "August 11, 2024."
If you're guessing that's the date of the women's finals at the Paris Olympics, you are correct.
Six-time Paralympian Oksana Masters was born in Ukraine in 1989 with radiation-related birth defects—including webbed fingers and tibial malformation—connected to the Chernobyl disaster. Growing up in Louisville, Ky., with adoptive mom Gay Masters, she underwent a number of surgeries, including respective leg amputations at 9 and 14—after which she took up rowing.
But sun, snow... It's all the same for the seven-time gold medalist, who has three Winter Paralympics as a para-cross-country skier and para-biathlete and three Summer Paralympics as a para-cyclist and para-rower under her belt heading into Paris, where she'll compete in cycling events.
After finishing just shy of the podium in Tokyo, surfer Caroline Marks is ready to ride her 2023 world title to Olympic victory in... Well, not Paris. All of the surfing will be taking place at Teahupo'o on Tahiti, nearly 10,000 miles away from the rest of the festivities.
Swimmer Jessica Long, whose Instagram bio reads "Born without legs + living my best life," is headed to her sixth Paralympics. The 29-time medalist, 16 of them gold, is pretty much just racing for bragging rights at this point.
Las Vegas Aces, um, ace and two-time WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson will be leading the U.S. women's basketball team in their quest for their eighth straight gold medal. (The men are looking for only their fifth straight, having been vanquished in 2004.)
Butterfly and freestylin' fool Caeleb Dressel won five gold medals in Tokyo, no big deal, to bring his career Olympic gold tally to seven. Paris will be the swimmer's third Games and first as a dad, having welcomed son August Wilder Dressel with wife Meghan Dressel in February.
After Jessica Parratto earned a silver medal in Tokyo for women's synchronized 10m platform with partner Delaney Schnell—Team USA's first-ever medal in that event—the 5-foot-2 athlete retired to, as she told NBC Sports, "finally be a normal person."
She did that for, like, a year until Schnell wooed her back into the pool. But to be clear, Parratto said of her return before they qualified for Paris, "I didn’t do it because she wanted me to. I really did it because I wanted to."
But she doesn't mind the camaraderie, either. When Schnell banged her feet at the Montreal Diving World Cup in May, Parratto's first international event back from retirement, "it was a really good bonding moment for us," she said, "and just being like, okay, we got this."
The U.S. men do gymnastics, too, and Fred Richard was the top scorer on both nights of the 2024 Olympic Trials. Obviously fans will flip if the 2023 NCAA all-around (and horizontal bars, and parallel bars) champion from University of Michigan helps the national team make an Olympic podium for the first time since 2008.
Watch the 2024 Paris Olympics starting Friday, July 26, with the Opening Ceremony at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and Peacock.Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
Title:2024 Olympics: Get to Know Soccer Star Trinity Rodman, Daughter of Dennis Rodman and Michelle Moyer
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