NBA
Dennis Rodman Started His Relationship With Carmen Electra by Holding Her Coat Hostage at a Bar
Joe Kozlowski began his career as a sports journalist in 2013 and joined Sportscasting in 2019. He covers the NBA and soccer for Sportscasting, with specialties in legacy NBA players such as Michael Jordan and Premier League club Arsenal. Off the clock, he's a Kansas City Chiefs fan and a hockey goalie. Growing up loving Shaquille O'Neal and reading everything he could about the great big men throughout NBA history — likely because he was still tall enough, at least relative to his peers, to play center — he's continued to love learning about and exploring the historical and story-based sides of the basketball archives. As for Arsenal, Joe spent a year living in London and latched onto the local support of the club. He's barely missed a match since, loving Arsene Wenger, enduring the Banter Era, and following along through rebuilds. The Premier League interest developed into a passionate following of the Champions League, Europe's big five league, and international soccer as a whole when played at the highest level. Regardless of the sport, Joe is captivated by the stories of athletes beyond the box scores and how they push the envelope — both in terms of what we think a human is capable of accomplishing and how they find new competitive tactics to win.
Get to know Joe Kozlowski betterPublished10 Apr 2021
When you hear the name Dennis Rodman, two different images could spring to mind. If you’re a big-time basketball fan, you’ll probably remember the Worm as a fearless NBA player who found plenty of basketball success. Those who focus on other things, however, will probably know Rodman as the colorful character who traveled to North Korea, married Carmen Electra, and did just about everything else in-between.
Even during that famous relationship with Carmen Electra, Dennis Rodman had to do things his own way. In fact, the couple’s time together began with an unusual move at a bar.
Dennis Rodman never did things by the book
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In professional sports, there’s no one blueprint to success. Dennis Rodman proved that during his time on the hardwood; the forward, for better or worse, never followed the crowd.
Rodman’s basketball career was unconventional from the start; growing up, he struggled to succeed in virtually anything athletic. After a sudden growth spurt, though, he decided to return to the hardwood; that choice would change the course of NBA history.
The forward spent a semester at junior college before enrolling at Southeastern Oklahoma State. There, he showed enough talent to join the Detroit Pistons as a second-round pick during the 1986 NBA draft. Rodman proved to be a perfect fit with the Bad Boys, winning two championships, and would later win three more titles with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.
Rodman’s unique spin on things wasn’t just limited to basketball, though. The forward famously dyed his hair with leopard print and smiley face patterns; on one occasion, he donned a wedding dress to promote his book. While other episodes were less humorous—the Worm, for example, once made headline by kicking a cameraman—there was never a dull moment with Dennis Rodman around.
Making a unique first impression on Carmen Electra
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Thanks to his celebrity status, Dennis Rodman had a couple of high-profile relationships. After a brief fling with Madonna, he tied the knot with Carmen Electra.
Under normal circumstances, you might assume that an NBA player and a famous model met through a mutual acquaintance; maybe a friend or an agent hooked them up. Dennis Rodman, however, never did anything by the book, including making a first impression on his future wife.
“She told us so many stories,” The Last Dance director Jason Hehir explained on ESPN’s Jalen & Jacoby Aftershow. “[Rodman] took her coat at a bar. They were both at this bar, and he wanted to talk to her. He took her coat, and he wouldn’t give it back until, like, she would agree to go to a diner with him and his boys that night.”
Dennis Rodman and Carmen Electra’s relationship only got weirder from there
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You might think that Dennis Rodman taking Carmen Electra’s coat and only giving it back after she agreed to accompany him to a diner was an unconventional way to kick off a relationship. After that, though, there were still a few more twists in the tale.
Hehir also recounted that, on the couple’s first date, Rodman drove his truck on the wrong side of the highway; while that had to be a jarring experience for Electra, she still married the NBA star.
While that relationship was far from perfect—Rodman filed for an annulment within days of the wedding, and the couple split up after less than a year—the pair still managed to enjoy themselves. As documented by the LA Times, Electra appeared in The Last Dance and told a story about visiting the Bulls’ practice facility with the Rodman. Since it was an off day, the couple started “pretty much having sex all over the damn place — in the physical therapy room, in the weight room [and] obviously on the court.”
That’s Dennis Rodman for you; the man certainly knows how to make a headline.
