OTD in 1997: Dennis Rodman kicks cameraman in the groin originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The truth is, we will never be able to grasp the inner-workings of Dennis Rodman. He’s an enigma in every sense of the word, especially at the height of his fame as a member of the Chicago Bulls dynasty led by Michael Jordan
For the most part, that’s okay. After all, Phil Jackson did a sensational job at keeping Rodman’s antics off the court.
One night though, on Jan. 17, 1997 in a game against the Timberwolves, he lost his cool.
The game was tied at 71 when Rodman fell out of bounds and tripped over some camera equipment after struggling for a rebound with Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Garnett. Sitting right there was Timberwolves photographer Eugene Amos, who pointed his camera for a closeup shot of Rodman on the floor. Frustrated, Rodman kicked Amos between the legs.
Amos laid over in pain for several minutes before being carried off on a stretcher. The Timberwolves physician determined it was a groin injury and sent him to the hospital for treatment.
No technical foul was issued in the moment, but Rodman ultimately paid a $200,000 settlement to Amos. Furthermore, the NBA suspended him 11 games, costing him over $1 million.
Rodman discussed the incident in a 1997 appearance on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”
“It wasn’t that I was trying to kick the guy,” he said. “I wasn’t trying to kick him. I was kicking, I’m frustrated, the camera that was on the floor. When I kicked him, I hit the camera and I hit him. It’s a damn shame we got people that the first thing that comes out of their mouth is ‘I want to sue you, I want your money’ and now his ass is in jail.”
The incident was a low point of the Bulls’ 1996-97 season, in which they finished 69-13 and went on to win a fifth NBA title in seven years. Rodman would win his sixth-straight rebounding title with 16.1 boards per game that season.
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