Washington Spirit’s Trinity Rodman is more than her father’s daughter

When you hear the name Trinity Rodman, what comes to mind? Most people wonder if she’s related to the controversial, but talented, former NBA star Dennis Rodman. She is. But she’s far more than that.

It was hard to know who Trinity Rodman would become when she was drafted second overall in the 2021 NWSL draft by the Washington Spirit. As the daughter of Dennis Rodman, one could assume she was a gifted athlete. But the full breadth of her talent was largely unknown.

Trinity Rodman followed an unusual path to the NWSL

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a strong desire to go pro, Rodman never played a single college match before entering the draft. At 18 years old, she became the NWSL’s youngest draft pick ever. Though she had a successful club career and impressive stints with the youth national teams, her resume was shorter than most at that level.

None of that mattered because Rodman thrived this year in the NWSL. Her professional debut also came with her first professional goal, making her the youngest goalscorer in NWSL history. That’s one way to break out of the shadow of your famous father.

Over the course of the season, she racked up a total of six goals, helping lead her team to the NWSL playoffs. And that’s her just getting started.

Rodman has had the fortune of having a mother she admires and leans on and a brother she can call her best friend. Her relationship with her father however is wildly different. In a heartbreaking yet encouraging moment of raw honesty and emotion, Rodman took to Instagram to let the world in on what she felt upon seeing her father unexpectedly show up at her playoff match.

"“This last game was an extremely emotional one. Yes Dennis Rodman showed up to an NSWL game, but also my dad, after YEARS surprised me at a big game in my career, I was shocked, overwhelmed, happy, sad, everything. My dad doesn’t play a big role in my life at all and most people don’t know that, we don’t see eye to eye on many things. I go months if not years without his presence or communication. Being in spotlights has been hard for us, him and me. We don’t have the best relationship, but at the end of the day he’s human I’m human…he’s my dad, and I’m his little girl that will never change. I will improve and look forward every day as I hope he does.”"

There’s no doubt that the future has a lot of exciting victories in store for Rodman the rising soccer star, the Beauty & the Briefcase movie-loving, TikTok dancing young woman who has done more than enough to pave the way for a successful journey outside the shadow of her father.