Dennis Rodman's father Philander Jr passes away at age 79 due to prostate cancer

Chicago Bulls legend Dennis Rodman's father Philander Jr passed away in Pampanga, the Philippines on Tuesday. Dennis Rodman's father was 79 and his granddaughter Jasmine Rodman confirmed the news on her Facebook page. The cause of Philander Jr's death was determined as prostate cancer, and he is lived on by 29 children. Dennis Rodman, in his memoir Bad As I Wanna Be had talked about his estranged relationship with his father, but met him and reconciled during a trip to the Philippines in 2021. 

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Philander Jr death: Dennis Rodman father dies of prostate cancer in the Philippines 

Dennis Rodman's father Philander Jr succumbed to his battle with prostate cancer on Tuesday. One of Dennis Rodman's siblings, Darling Marie, created a Twitter account so that news could reach the Chicago Bulls legend and help them pay the outstanding hospital fees after Philander Jr's death. Marie also created a GoFundMe page for the expenses.

Dennis Rodman's father was an enlisted member of the US Army during the Vietnam war. He was stationed in the Philippines in the 1970s, leaving behind Dennis Rodman's mother in the US. According to Sports Inquirer, Dennis Rodman's father became a burger joint owner in Pampanga called the Rodman's Rainbow Obamaburger joint that sold burgers with red, yellow, and green coloured buns and fries in honour of his son’s multicolour hairstyle during his three-peat NBA championship run with the Chicago Bulls in the late 1990s. CNN Philippines reports that before Philander Jr death, he fathered around 29 children through 16 women. 

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Philander Jr death: Dennis Rodman siblings and estranged relationship with his father

In his 1996 memoir Bad As I Wanna Be, Dennis Rodman admitted to not knowing his father well and blamed him for his family's struggles. Rodman's mother and the former NBA legend himself had not seen his father for over 40 years before their 2012 meeting during an exhibition game in 2012 at Mall of Asia Arena in Manila. The former Detroit Pistons star had refused his father's request for a personal meeting in 2006 when he first travelled to Manila.

In 2012 however, Dennis Rodman acknowledged Philander Jr and told the press that he does not hate his father. Dennis Rodman's mother moved to Dallas after his father left them for new pastures in the Philippines. Dennis Rodman's siblings Debra and Kim took care of the Bulls legend while growing up, and he admitted to not having a 'male role model' in his life until he joined college and then got his his 'act together'.

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(Image Credit: AP)