Trinity Rodman has a regular habit, which she repeats before every game.
She writes on her arm the acronyms of the five most important people in her life: mother, brother, sister, nephew, niece.
But she never wrote the acronym DR.
Dennis Rodman was one of the best basketball players in history.
Five times he won the NBA Championship, seven times he was the king of rebounds in the best league in the world.
And he is also the father of Trinity, one of the rising footballers in the world.
Until recently, and in fact even today, when she's already a U.S. national team player, people continue to refer to Trinity as "the daughter of," even though Dennis broke up with Michelle Moyer, Trinity's mother, when she was already 4 years old.
Dennis Rodman was a huge basketball player, perhaps the best defensive player ever.
But he was also a controversial figure.
He was involved in countless scandals that included sex, drugs, alcohol, and bizarre love affairs with the North Korean dictatorship.
When he entered the Hall of Fame in 2011 he said with tears in his eyes: "I wish I could have been a better dad."
Trinity Rodman.
Loves to cook more than to score, Photo: USA TODAY Sports
When Trinity is asked about her famous father, she shrugs.
She knows how much her last name evokes emotions among sports fans, who remember the achievements and also the exploits of her wayward father.
But she keeps saying, "My role model is my mother."
But she does not run away from reality.
"The hardest thing is that they will always compare me to my dad, and expect me to become a legend, as he was. He will never remain my dad, but what's important is to remember he was a successful NBA player, and I hope to be a successful NWSL player."
It is clear to everyone that she is tired of talking about her father, but she understands the rules of the game and it is clear to her that in every interview she gives, the question will come.
"Ultimately he's my dad and it's not something that will go away, so I answer those questions and move on."
Trinity loves basketball, obviously, but is crazy about football, a sport she started playing when she was 4, encouraged by her mother Michelle and her brother Dennis Jr. (known as "DJ").
Trinity Rodman.
Try to stop her, Photo: USA TODAY Sports
"Because my dad was an NBA star, no one ever asked me about my mom, but it's important to me that people knew that without Mom's help and support I would not have gotten where I was. Mom is my best friend, she's my rock."
Trinity is well aware that she inherited quite a bit from her father: she is an amazing athlete, fast, strong and has amazing instincts.
From Father Dennis she also received the competitiveness, the endless hunger to win.
"Dad was an amazing athlete and I got his genes. But I'm a Trinity Rodman and not just Dennis Rodman's daughter," she says.
When the episodes of the series "The Last Dance" were shown on television, in which her father appeared quite a bit alongside Michael Jordan in the 1997-8 season, she could not watch too much.
"I just fell asleep in front of the TV," she said.
It was recently revealed that the one who empathized with Trinity and her sister Tiana was none other than Kobe Bryant, who teamed up with Dennis Rodman in the 1998-99 season at the Los Angeles Lakers.
The two were not friends, also because of the age difference.
Rodman was then 37 and Kobe a young player of 20. They would have watched action together in just 23 games before Rodman moved to the Dallas Mavericks.
But Michelle and the three children stayed to live in Newport Beach, California.
Trinity Rodman.
Do not forget Kobe Bryant, Photo: USA TODAY Sports
A few years later, Natalia, Bryant's eldest daughter, started playing kids' soccer, and one of her teammates was Trinity Rodman.
Kobe Bryant, who was a very proud father and very active in his daughters' lives, would come quite a bit to the football field, where he would relate unusually to the two daughters of Dennis Rodman, and especially to the 8-year-old Trinity.
Last week, ESPN published a ranking of the best young footballers (under the age of 21) in the world, and Trinity Rodman was chosen as the best of them all.
Less than a month ago, she celebrated her 20th birthday, and it's clear to everyone that she's just getting started.
According to many, it is a matter of two to three years until Trinity is crowned the best footballer in the world, at all ages.
Just about a year ago she became a pro without doing the usual way, through college, when she signed a contract with Washington Spirit, one of the teams in the U.S. League, NWSL.
Dennis Rodman.
"I wish I could have been a better dad," Photo: Screenshot
Along the way she set another record: the youngest footballer to be drafted.
And not for nothing, but from second place.
The track is usually different: only after three years in college do the actresses dream of a professional team in the US or move to Europe. But Trinity "jumped a grade" due to her special abilities. To the NBA.
Quite a few in the US have raised an eyebrow. They wondered if this was not a publicity stunt, trying to take advantage of Trinity's famous last name to add interest and popularity to the league.
But it took very little time to realize that this was a "real deal."
Trinity Rodman won the title of "Rocky of the Year in the League," "Young Player of the Year in the United States," and was one of the standouts in the first win in Washington Pride history in the championship.
Kobe Bryant.
Empathy for Trinity, Photo: Reuters
In the final game in November against the Chicago Red Stars, she was the one who handed the ball to the field, to a move that led to Pendel winning her team.
And she also cooked up the championship goal in overtime, with a great raise to Kelly O’Hara.
When Rodman signed a three-year contract a year ago, her base salary was $ 42,000.
To this were added bonuses and rent that the club pays.
But following its incredible debut season the Washington Pride management decided to sign her to a new four-year contract, with a base salary of $ 1.1 million.
And so, before celebrating her 20th birthday Trinity Rodman became the top earner in the American League.
More than stars for no US sports fan unfamiliar, like Megan Rapino and Alex Morgan.
By the way, the maximum salary in the US Women's League is $ 75,000 a year, an increase of 43 percent compared to what was customary until now, after the players' protest was successful. Clubs have the option to pay additional sums to specific players, as in Rodman's case.
By the way, before Trinity signed for Washington Pride, she never visited the East Coast of the United States ...
In the US team could not ignore the abilities of Trinity and in January she was called up to the senior squad of the world champion. In April, in the third game of the team she scored her first goal in the national uniform, in the victory over Uzbekistan.
Trinity Rodman in action.
Inspirational story, Photo: USA TODAY Sports
Two years ago she scored 8 goals and cooked another 6 in the uniform of the young US team, which qualified for the World Cup - which was canceled due to the Corona plague.
In general, Trinity says she prefers to cook rather than score.
And when you see some of her incredible dedication, you can understand why.
Beyond speed, power and high technique, Lava also has game vision at the highest level.
The next milestone, which should place Trinity Rodman at the top of women's football in the world, will be the World Cup, which will be held in a year in Australia and New Zealand.
And at a time when women's football is flourishing unprecedentedly around the world, do not be surprised that in a year, when they talk about Dennis Rodman, everyone will say, "That basketball player? Ah, the father of Trinity Rodman."
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