Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons legend Dennis Rodman had a tough time growing up. Rodman grew up in troubled surroundings and his mother even kicked him out of the house at a young age. Growing up without a father was hard on the NBA champion. His father, Philander Rodman, left him and his family when Dennis was barely three or four years old. This wasn’t anything new for Philander who had multiple children with different women.
Philander Rodman left his family and had settled in the Philippines. During an interview with Washington Post, Rodman’s father had once opened up on his troubled relationship with his famous son and also revealed how his kids see Dennis Rodman as a bad person.
Rodman’s father once called himself the ‘bad one’
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Philander Rodman left a young Dennis Rodman and his mother for another woman when the NBA Hall of Famer was just a child. Since then, he was in and out of prison and also left his job for the US Air Force. He then ran a dingy old bar in a small town in the Philippines.
Interestingly, Philander had married two local women and wanted a few more kids despite being a father to 26 children. In fact, he wanted the number to be 30! While talking about his aspirations, Philander also revealed how some of his kids saw Dennis Rodman as the bad character in the family.
“They think Dennis is bad. They ain’t been around me, they ain’t seen nothin’. I’m the bad one.” he said during the 1996 Washington post interview. The then 56-year-old said this while surrounded by some of the children he had with his two Filipino wives.
Dennis Rodman never replied to his father
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Little did Philander know that the child he had left behind in the United States of America would turn out to be one of the greatest basketball players ever. He regularly sent faxes and letters to the Chicago Bulls legend but his son never replied.
He also followed all the games of the Bulls which were telecasted by ESPN and the local channels. It seems that the Worm’s fame had an impact on his estranged father as well because reporters mobbed Philander Rodman when the Bulls won the championship.
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