Dennis Rodman is unquestionably one of the most underappreciated players of all time. Players feared facing Rodman, who is regarded as one of the elite group of world-class possession gainers. Night after night, The Worm was able to sacrifice his body to gain every little control of the ball. He defeated some of the greatest centers of all time to win many back-to-back titles in that category.
Rodman was the unsung hero and a major factor in all the victories, whether it was his two championships with the Bad Boy Pistons or the three with Michael Jordan and the Bulls. Conversely, Rodman was also in people’s buzzing for all of his contentious on-court antics, which resulted in “Dennis the Menace” having missed out on millions of dollars in penalties and suspensions over the course of his 14-year career.
On January 15, 1997, an incident that occurred during the Chicago Bulls vs. Minnesota Timberwolves game captured the attention of the entire NBA universe. Dennis Rodman and Kevin Garnett fought for the ball following a failed free throw attempt by Garnett. Rodman somehow lost his footing and tumbled into the press area behind the basket. Cameraman Eugene Amos quickly moved his camera to capture the expression on Rodman’s face while he was trying to calm himself.
25 years ago today, Dennis Rodman’s infamous kick to a cameraman’s groin.
Worm paid the cameraman $200K, was fined $25K by the NBA & lost about a million dollars in salary due to an 11-GM suspension
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) January 15, 2022
The power forward reacted outrageously and kicked Amos close to his crotch in frustration. The cameraman was then carried off the court and sent to a nearby hospital for treatment. After the incident, Eugene Amos sued Dennis Rodman for intended assault.
Many legal experts predicted that Rodman might face a jail sentence. However, Amos and his attorneys reached an off-court arrangement with Rodman’s representatives. Rodman ultimately agreed to a $200,000 settlement in exchange for the dismissal of all charges. The NBA also intervened and ordered an 11-game ban without pay for Rodman. The league levied a $25,000 fine against Rodman, and the Bulls star lost close to $1.1 million for the incident.
In an interview on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” Rodman reflected on the 1997 event and shared how guilty he felt. He said, “It was a bad thing on my part, it wasn’t that I was trying to kick the guy, I was kicking the camera that was on the floor.” He further added, “When I kicked him, I hit the camera and I hit him.”
