Dennis Rodman was always known for being the ultimate hustle guy and winner on the court, and an absolute party animal that never shied away from sharing or showcasing how he felt loud and clear. So when “The Worm” drank through a big interview at his home back in 2003, he was bound to say some wild stuff.
At one point, Rodman mentioned the legendary boxer Mike Tyson out of the blue and explained the difference between them.
”That dude can’t tell the difference between image and reality,” Rodman said. ”He thinks he’s a tough guy, when he’s just a guy. I can’t change my image, because Dennis is my image.”
Dennis never minced words
A few years into his retirement, Rodman was enjoying the fruits of his labour and living every day to his fullest. Chilling in his luxurious home, Dennis hosted the interviewer from the New York Times and showed him how his usual day went.
It was as interesting and unpredictable as expected, as “Dennis the Menace” was going hard on the booze as usual. Sharing his most profound thoughts, from his basketball career, to his personal troubles, Rodman was unfazed to pour his heart out and share his piece of mind.
What prompted him to think of Tyson is unknown, but Rodman was probably trying to compare himself to “Iron Mike” in the sense of their images. Dennis felt he could never change or differentiate from the outside stigma that followed him ever since he entered his eccentric era post his Detroit Pistons “Bad Boys” days. On the other hand, “The Worm” felt Mike could turn off the scary image and goof around when he wasn’t preparing for a fight.
Rodman actually saw himself in Tyson
Interestingly, on a separate occasion, Dennis marveled at Mike’s life story because he could see himself in the same scenario. According to “The Worm,” he and Iron Mike shared a similar rough childhood and the motive to become winners rather than focusing on earning big bucks.
“Our life is so parallel as far as the way we were brought up and stuff like that,” Rodman said. “We didn’t really have any guidance or direction. We just wanted to do our profession. But when you meet good people, in the beginning, that puts you in the right direction to do well, and that’s very heartfelt. Once you’ve been abandoned when you’re a youth – between 12, 13, 14 years old – you feel like you lost. You have two directions: go to jail or die.”
“I had that desire to win. I didn’t give a sh*t what it took. I’ll do the dirty work. I don’t give a sh*t,” Dennis added. “He wanted to do his job, and I just wanted to do my job. I always say when I came up when I was 25 years old, I said, ‘I don’t give a sh*t, I’ll play for a fu***ng dollar. I just wanna play.”
What was Rodman’s accurate view of Tyson is something Dennis himself is probably not 100% sure of, but between two great athletes and unique individuals, there must have been mutual respect. After all, who would have wanted to get on Mike’s bad side, even if you were a fearless 6’7” beast like “The Worm.”
