Dennis Rodman was once suspended 6 games and fined a whopping $20,000 after he headbutted an NBA official during a Bulls game.
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Dennis Rodman always had a flair for the theatric. While he was just another hard-nosed, hustle-type player under Chuck Daly on the Detroit Pistons, he would slowly become his fully actualized self after leaving Detroit. Daly’s resignation from the head coaching job was actually a catalyst for Rodman’s turn to eccentricity.
Unfortunately for him, he made it onto a San Antonio Spurs squad that was led by two military men: Gregg Popovich manning the team as the GM and the head coach and David Robinson who was quite literally nicknamed ‘The Admiral’.
After a WCF loss in the 1995 Playoffs, Dennis Rodman called out the Spurs front office, tanked his trade value, and got dealt to the Chicago Bulls for a center who averaged less than 5 points a night.
Phil Jackson made the rebounding savant make amends with Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan given their history with the Pistons-Bulls. Following that, Rodman was brought on board.
Dennis Rodman headbutted an NBA official.
Dennis Rodman was in the middle of a two-way street that had him be excellent at riling opposing players up and also getting riled up himself, both resulting in technical fouls. Whether it was Alonzo Mourning or Karl Malone, ‘The Worm’ knew how to tough it out with fierce competition.
However, Rodman’s innate passion led him to make some questionable choices for himself. In a game between the New Jersey Nets and the Chicago Bulls in March of 1996, Rodman would make one of these choices.
He received his first technical foul after he slammed the ball on the ground following a missed defensive rotation that led to a freebie at the rim. His second tech would come in a rebounding battle against Rick Mahorn. After getting called for a common foul, Rodman pleads his case and gets that second tech.
Frustrated with having gotten ejected, Dennis Rodman gets into the face of NBA official, Ted Bernhardt, and actually decides to headbutt him. To give him the benefit of the doubt, he seemed to jerk his head a bit too forward and it may have been an accident but what’s done is done.
Given his reputation, he received a 6 game suspension and got with a fine to the tune of $20,000.
The referee he headbutted would actually be arrested in 2010 for Invasion of Privacy after causing a ruckus at his ex-girlfriend’s house. He would be released on $250 bond.
