Former Chicago Bulls star Dennis Rodman is battling “alcoholism” and his ex-wife claims he owes about $800,000 in unpaid child support — but at least he avoided jail time Tuesday.Rodman, 50, faced the possibility of up to 20 days in jail for failure to pay the child support, but a judge in Orange County, Calif., agreed to postpone the case until May 29.
“He’s not in a comfortable space,” Darren Prince, Rodman’s agent, told the Chicago Sun-Times. “He still loves his wife and he still loves his kids. (The divorce) has taken a lot out of him.”
Rodman’s ex-wife, Michelle Rodman, claims in court papers filed this month in Orange County that the former basketball star owes her $808,935 in unpaid child support for the couple’s two children — ages 9 and 10 — as well as $51,441 in unpaid spousal support, several media outlets reported Tuesday.
Michelle Rodman’s attorney, Jack Kayajanian, told the Sun-Times the former NBA star has been making payments, but only in “dribs and drabs.”
But Rodman’s attorney, Linnea Willis, said in her own court filings that her client can not possibly afford to pay the amount Michelle Rodman says she is owed. Rodman’s lawyer said the amount is “unjustified” because it’s not based on Rodman’s actual income. The court filings on Dennis Rodman’s behalf also describe him as being “extremely sick,” although Prince later clarified that his sickness is his “well-documented alcoholism.”
