Claiming that he is experiencing financial difficulties and serious illness, former Chicago Bulls star basketball player Dennis Rodman has filed papers in court stating that he is currently not able to meet his child support and spousal maintenance obligations. At the beginning of March, those unpaid obligations for child support for his 9 and 10 year old children reportedly totaled $808,935. The children are from the 51-year-old ex-athlete’s third marriage.
He also reportedly owed $51,441 for spousal support to his third wife, as well as $5,000 for the support of another child he fathered in a prior relationship. He has also pled poverty and illness as an explanation for failing to meet required payments of $4,500 a month in spousal and child support to one of his other wives.
His lawyers claim that the former star NBA player can barely afford his current living expenses and that they have been representing him for free because he cannot afford to pay them. They also assert that his “marketability” is quickly vanishing because of both his illness and his age. The nature of the claimed illness was not revealed in published news reports.
The divorce proceeding in his third marriage was filed in 2004. At the time, he claimed monthly expenses totaling over $30,000, and his first wife listed her monthly expenses as totaling $17,000. His third wife is asking the court for an award of attorneys’ fees as well as payment of overdue spousal and child support.
The former basketball player frequently led the NBA teams in rebounds. He played basketball for the Lakers after leaving the Chicago Bulls.
Source: Los Angeles Times, “Dennis Rodman ‘broke,’ ‘extremely sick,’ his attorney says,” Lauren Williams, March 27, 2012
