You can say a lot of things about Dennis Rodman. And after watching his Hall of Fame induction speech, it’s pretty clear he knows that there’s a ring of truth to every bit of it.
I saw a tweet in the middle of it that said Rodman’s acceptance was less speech and more baring of his soul. Basketball itself maybe accounted for 30 seconds of the speech at best. The rest was thank-yous and acknowledgement of his own failures in life as a husband, father and son. For those of you who expected a wild, “what’s that crazy idiot gonna do next” kind of speech… don’t bother watching. This is none of that. This is raw emotion. This is Dennis Keith Rodman in his true form.
I figured the Rodman speech would be a “must watch.” I just didn’t think it would be for these reasons. Maybe that’s my own fault for believing his antics were something more than a facade hiding a lot of pain inside. The boas, the wedding dress, the make up… it’s his escape. It’s a chance for Dennis Rodman to be someone other than Dennis Rodman. Because it’s clear, being Dennis Rodman hurts too much sometimes. What we see is the manifestation of that.
I hope Dennis gets what he wants someday. I hope he finds the peace inside himself to become what he said he wants to become in his speech: a better husband to his wife, a better father to his kids, and a better son to his mother. We can debate what he did on the basketball court all day long, and we can point and laugh at his persona. But the inner peace to be those things he wants to be are things we should hope for all people.
Good luck to you, Dennis Rodman. Here’s hoping you reach those goals.
