Dennis Rodman, one of the most compelling characters in NBA history, was a focal point of episodes three and four of The Last Dance, which centered on the Chicago Bulls’ rivalry with the “Bad Boys” Pistons, Rodman’s role on the 1997-98 Bulls team, and some of his eccentric behavior during that time. Since those episodes released, more Rodman stories have come out thanks to some illuminating interviews featuring Carmen Electra, Rodman’s ex-wife.
Electra joined ESPN’s Sarah Spain this week on her podcast, “That’s What She Said with Sarah Spain,” to talk about Rodman’s escapades, including the time when he drove the wrong way on a freeway in Chicago.
Mini Pod: Going the wrong way on the freeway and Michael Jordan walking in on her naked… Carmen Electra joined Spain & Company to talk about her relationship with Dennis Rodman during the Bulls championship run in the ‘90s.https://t.co/8gx2ThEhxR
— Sarah Spain (@SarahSpain) May 1, 2020
“Literally, we were out one night, and he decided to literally scare the sh*t out of me,” Electra said on Spain’s podcast. “So there we were, listening to Pearl Jam, driving backward on the freeway. I was petrified, and I’m trying not to show my fear because I knew if I showed my fear to [Rodman] he was going to go faster and do something crazier, and eventually he turned around and went back to normal. And I just thought, ‘Oh my god, we’re doing to die! We’re going to die here in Chicago. And this is not good!'”
In a particularly memorable moment of The Last Dance, Michael Jordan recalled the time when he had to bring Rodman back for team practice after he left for an in-season vacation. According to both Jordan and Electra’s interviews in the documentary, Jordan had to drag Rodman out of bed while Electra hid behind a couch. However, on Spain’s podcast, Electra says the events might have gotten mixed up, because she remembers being there when Jordan came into Rodman’s house in Chicago — not a hotel room in Las Vegas.
“What I remember happened in [Rodman’s] living room because he slept in front of his couch,” Electra said. “He put a mattress right on the floor in front of his couch and that’s where we slept. And there was one time Michael came to the door because [Rodman] was late for practice, and [Rodman] turns to me — and I was naked, hiding behind the couch. And he looked scared. [Rodman] looked scared for one time in his life. And he said, ‘Michael’s at the door. I gotta go, I gotta go!’ And I was hiding because I didn’t know if Michael was coming in, I didn’t know what was happening. And [Rodman] got dressed real quick for practice and left.”
She then wondered if when Jordan had to intervene in Las Vegas, there was a different girl in Rodman’s bed.
“So, as I’m seeing [the clip], it looked as if that happened in Vegas and then I thought, ‘Oh no, was that another girl in Vegas that was in some bed?’
However, according to The Last Dance director Jason Hehir, Jordan never even went to Las Vegas. Rodman apparently returned from his vacation in Las Vegas to his apartment which was across the street from the United Center in Chicago, which was where Jordan had to go and bring him to practice.
“[Rodman’s] vacation, part of it was in Vegas, of course, but he got back and still felt like he was going to do a staycation for a little bit in Chicago,” Hehir said on ESPN’s Jalen and Jacoby on Monday. “So, that’s where Michael said, ‘All right, I am going to walk across the street.’ … Michael, I think he said off-camera, grabbed him by his nose ring and just took him out.”
The complete account of events from that fateful day may never be known, but the story we’ve gotten so far sure is wild.
