Ben McAleer
Trinity Rodman has slammed a commentator at Wimbledon for emphasising the relationship between herself and her father, NBA legend Dennis Rodman.
With Rodman in attendance, her boyfriend - tennis star Ben Shelton - progressed to the quarter-finals of Wimbledon on Monday, coming from behind to defeat Italian Lorenzo Sonego three sets to one.
However, a commentator for their last-16 clash referred to the father and daughter relationship, which has prompted an angry response from Washington Spirit striker Trinity.
Former NBA star Rodman was born in 1961, and quickly shot to prominence as one of the most exciting stars on the American basketball circuit. Nicknamed ‘The Worm’, the official NBA website states Rodman is 'arguably the best rebounding forward in NBA history', while he often clashed with opposition players and officials during matches.
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The 61-year-old is best remembered for his time with the Chicago Bulls, during which the Bulls won their third title in a row in the 1997/98 season, one made famous by the Last Dance Netflix documentary as Rodman shone alongside Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan.
Never one to shy away from the spotlight, Rodman has appeared in professional wrestling, and was previously a member of the New World Order (nWo) as he fought alongside Hulk Hogan in the main event of one of two Bash at the Beach pay-per-views.
In addition, he drew international attention for visiting North Korea and befriending Kim Jong Un in 2013, while he famously wore a wedding dress to promote his 1996 biography ‘Bad As I Wanna Be’.
23-year-old Trinity, though, has previously been keen to distance herself from father Dennis, previously stating on the Call Her Daddy podcast with Alex Cooper: “He's not a dad. Maybe by blood but nothing else.”
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And the USWNT international took to social media to voice her anger and call out the Wimbledon commentator who referred to her relationship with her father.
“For Ben’s matches he has his family there as his support system which includes his dad. My dads 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,” Trinity said on an Instagram story on her official page.
Shelton faces an uphill struggle as he looks to progress to the semi-finals of Wimbledon on Wednesday.
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The American takes on World Number One Jannik Sinner this week after the Italian secured his quarter-final spot at Grigor Dimitrov’s expense.
The experienced Bulgarian had raced into a two-set lead before the match was suspended due to fading light and the roof needed to be closed on centre court, a decision that was slammed by Andy Murray.
After the match restarted, though, Dimitrov suffered a pectoral injury and was forced to retire, which saw Sinner, who was struggling with an injury of his own, progress to the next round of Wimbledon.