Journalism Showcase: “SC Featured” Profiles Trinity Rodman, The NWSL’s Highest-Paid Player
SportsCenter interviews Rodman, who balances her emerging soccer stardom with the controversial legacy of her father, Basketball Hall Of Famer Dennis Rodman
At 20 years old, Trinity Rodman is the highest-paid player in National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) history. She has made a name for herself that rings bells on and off the field. In her inaugural year, Rodman was the youngest woman drafted to the NWSL and went on to win “Rookie of the Year” as a member of the champion Washington Spirit 2021 team.
Though Rodman is having an amazing run racking up accolades, she can’t escape the ever-looming shadow of being Basketball Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman’s daughter. Despite their estranged relationship, she is reminded of her controversial father’s legacy at each turn.
As a part of ESPN’s Fifty/50 month-long programming initiative to honor the 50th anniversary of Title IX, the SC Featured story “Trinity Rodman,” produced by Susan Ansman, will air Sunday, June 5, in the 8 a.m. ET hour of SportsCenter. The story will be accompanied by a written digital piece by Charlotte Gibson, the reporter on the television piece, on ESPN.com. Rodman will discuss forging her path, legacy, and distant relationship with her father.
Ansman spoke with Front Row:
What inspired you to tell Rodman’s story?
Trinity Rodman is a soccer new generation superstar with a fascinating meteoric rise in the NWSL. I think what inspired us to tell her story is that she openly wants the world to know that this is her own path she’s worked hard to carve out for herself in the professional sports landscape despite living under the shadow of her father, Dennis Rodman, with whom she does not have a strong relationship.
What message do you hope the audience takes away from this piece?
I hope the audience takes away an element of understanding and appreciation for who Trinity is off the field and how she grew up. As we found out during our time with her, she’s been through a lot with her family. Still, she has taken that past and developed a strength that you can see she carries with her into every game.
