Trinity Rodman Blasts ESPN for Dragging Her Estranged Father Dennis Rodman Into Boyfriend’s Wimbledon Spotlight

ESPN’s desperate grasp for celebrity nostalgia collided head-on with personal boundaries this week, drawing backlash from U.S. soccer star Trinity Rodman — daughter of controversial NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman — after the network unnecessarily dragged her estranged father into Wimbledon coverage.

While airing a crowd shot during a match involving American tennis pro Ben Shelton, ESPN commentators chose to identify Trinity not solely as a soccer standout, but as “the girlfriend of Ben Shelton, great soccer player in her own right, the daughter of former basketball star Dennis Rodman,” according to the New York Post.

That mention sparked a swift and emotional reaction from Rodman, who took to Instagram to set the record straight — and to issue a very public correction.

“For Ben’s matches he has his family there as his support system, which includes his dad… my dad’s 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,” she wrote in an Instagram Story, per Fox News.

“It’s him and his loved ones’ moment. Thank you,” she added, emphasizing her frustration with ESPN’s inability to respect boundaries or read the room.

To make matters worse, ESPN didn’t even get her name right.

“For those who don’t know… my name is TRINITY not Tiffany,” she said — a blunt swipe at the network’s lack of basic professionalism.

Rodman, who plays for the Washington Spirit in the National Women’s Soccer League and is a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team, has been transparent about her strained — and largely non-existent — relationship with her father.

In a candid podcast interview from December, she painted a sobering picture of emotional distance and paternal failure.

“I lost hope in ever getting him back, I answer the phone now for my conscience to be like, ‘He needed to hear my voice’ before anything happens,” she said. “That’s why I answer the phone, not for me…”

“He’s not a dad. Maybe by blood but nothing else,” she added, according to On3.

Despite years of keeping her public comments measured, she admitted the effort to protect her father’s image came at a personal cost.

“With the dad situation… I feel like me and my brother have been very generous… we never want to make him look bad, and that is at the cost of holding in a lot,” she explained.

“Even now, I’m trying to be honest about it, and I’m still giving him sympathy. Which is frustrating for me because in reality, I think he’s an extremely selfish human being. I think everything has always been about him.”

ESPN’s tone-deaf name-drop didn’t just miss the mark — it showed how far legacy media will go to exploit fame, even at the expense of real human pain.