The ghetto kid to be saved by sports — That was the media portrayal of Dennis Rodman and a concurrent pain would cut deep in Shirley, his mother, who was living in Dallas at the time. But when Chicago saw Dennis beyond what the tattoo-covered, blonde/dyed-haired, the baddest cross-dressing fella had to offer outwardly, Shirley was more than glad, especially after his run-ins with the San Antonio Spurs front office for nearly two years. If his outlandish stunts are anything to go by, the media approached Shirley with questions as curious as it can get!

Before we get to the meat of the story, it’s important to understand that Dennis was an out-and-out anti-authoritarian figure. What did former teammate Michael Jordan have to say about it? Well, Shirley wasn’t wrong when she said Chicago really embraced him for the man he was. “His dresses doesn’t bother me, his hair doesn’t bother me,” that’s MJ for you in all things Dennis Rodman. The forward even got a strong warning from the then NBA commissioner David Stern for his tattoo. But what did he do? He went ahead and got more!

A resurfaced video from a Bulls vs Nuggets game, that was slated for March 15, 1996, has gone viral. Bulls were on a 56-7 (win-loss) high coming out of that game after they convincingly defeated Nuggets with a 108-87 score! Dennis was scouting amid the crowd, looking for someone worthy to have his jersey. He kept saying no, whoever was trying to grab, he enquired, “Where’s mom?”

It was the first time Shirley was attending a game after Rodman had moved to the Chicago Bulls. As Rodman continued cracking the Denver Nuggets’ defense, an interviewer sat down with the mother for an interview. And could we even expect a question that didn’t involve her son’s fashion choices? But Shirley was determined to defend. His mom was seated courtside. She responded,

“I think it is wonderful. It is a wild town. And it just looks like everybody has accepted him so well here. I’m so happy,” she said on YouTube video by Bball Vault. When asked about his tattoos and hair, Shirley simply said, “I think if that’s what he wants to do, it is wonderful with me. Look at mine,” she pointed out her own hairdo. Shirley was always vocal about Dennis’s quirks. Just read this interview that came around the same time he appeared for a signing for his new book, As Bad As I Wanna Be dressed as a woman. Was it a shrewd marketing stunt? His mother certainly thought so.

“It didn’t offend me in the least,” she said. “It surprised me, but I thought it was funny. But Dennis knows what he’s doing. He’s not stupid. He’s very smart, and he has a lot of savvy about what he’s doing.”

About the book which also went on to be in New York Times’s bestseller’s list, she said, “The book is very graphic about his feelings toward things. I have nothing to say about the book because those are Dennis’ thoughts. It’s very explicit. But I don’t fault him for it, because he told it exactly the way it was. I think it was good for Dennis to express his feelings. Thank God that we have the freedom to do that.”

Although Dennis had already tried convincing his mother to retire and live off his hard-earned money, she maintained her job as an administrative assistant for a plywood and door manufacturing company in Dallas. For Shirley, she wanted privacy, however barely she could manage with a son in the NBA, “For 10 years, I have fought to maintain my privacy and to lead my life like I’ve always done. It just so happens that I have a son in the NBA,” she said.

Though the player didn’t have a good relationship with Shirley and was once kicked out of the house during his teens, he reminisced about how he had never “been a great son” during his Hall of Fame induction speech in 2011. Despite these complications, he shared a close relationship with his mother until she passed away on September 5. 

Fractured relationship or not, Rodman’s heartbreak over her passing was evident, as he posted on Instagram” “Thank you for the Memories ✨ Thank you for creating Me Dennis Rodman Thank you for being My Mother Forever My Angel 😇 RIP Mom! From your only son as you would say 🤞🏾#mom #rip #love #goodlife.”

Having said that, did you know the former the Bulls’ player’s tattoo actually saved him from self-abuse? 

Dennis Rodman was not afraid to express himself

Dennis Rodman didn’t have a happy childhood. He had an absent father who left when he was just eight years old and reportedly fathered 29 children with 16 women. He had a mother who barely hugged her children and worked three jobs to feed him and his sisters, Debra and Kim. 

So like any child would, Dennis was deeply disturbed, finding solace in an unusual practice—ink.

Speaking to Stan Verrett from ESPN in 2019, the 63-year-old stated, “They think that I’ve been doing this because I’m hiding something…No I don’t think so. I feel like it’s more of an outlet for me because when I have negative things happen to my life I seem to want to hurt myself physically. I think the tattoos…symbolizes that” 

Later that year, he also decoded his showdown with NBA commissioner David Stern. When he spoke to comedian Kevin Hart, he explained how he was doing tattoos before anybody thought about doing tattoos in the league.

Stern had a vision for the league, and obviously, Dennis Rodman would be an outlier so the commissioner said, “If you do any more tattoos, I’m going to kick you out.” Once again he gave it no thought and claimed that he got another tattoo that very night and didn’t hold back from adding more.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.