Dennis Rodman Was Suspended By NBA For Six Games After Headbutting Official In First Season With Bulls: ‘Sooner Or Later, He Is Going To Lose It’

During the 1995-96 NBA season, Chicago Bulls star Dennis Rodman headbutted official Ted Bernhardt. 

The NBA suspended Rodman for six games. 

Bulls legend Scottie Pippen wrote about Rodman headbutting Bernhardt in his book.

“Everything was going well,” Pippen wrote. “Too well. The season is long. Something was bound to go wrong, especially when you have Dennis Rodman on your team. Sooner or later, he is going to lose it. The question is when. And how bad it will be. Pretty bad. It happened on March 16, 1996. We were playing the Nets in New Jersey. With about a minute and a half to go in the first quarter, Dennis was called for a foul on Rick Mahorn. To express his disgust, Dennis put his hands in his pants. To suggest it showed a lack of respect, to the official and to the game itself, goes without saying. 

“The official, Ted Bernhardt, gave him a T, his second of the game. Dennis was done for the night. Well, not completely done. Being Dennis, that is. He had a tantrum. No problem. Players have tantrums all the time. I certainly had my share. Only Dennis did something that was anything but fine. He headbutted Bernhardt and would be suspended by the league for six games.”

The Bulls acquired Rodman from the San Antonio Spurs before the 1995-96 NBA season started.

Before the Bulls-Spurs trade went through, Rodman met with Phil Jackson at Jerry Krause’s house.

Jackson spoke about that meeting in “The Last Dance.”

“Oh, it was awful,” Jackson said. “I walk into Jerry Krause’s house. He’s sitting on the couch. He’s got a pool boy hat over his eyes, he’s got the rings in his nose and his mouth, and he doesn’t stand up to meet me. So I said, ‘Stand up Dennis. Take your hat off, shake hands. Let’s go outside and talk.'”

Added Rodman: “We had to break bread then, at the house. He said, ‘Dennis, you wanna come play for the Bulls?’ I said, ‘I don’t care. Whatever. What’s up?'”

Rodman helped the Bulls win three straight NBA titles in 1996, 1997 and 1998. Michael Jordan called Rodman “one of the smartest” players he ever played with. 

“Dennis was one of the smartest guys I played with,” Jordan said in The Last Dance. “He understood defensive strategy with all the rotations. He had no limits in terms of what he does. … He was a new character, but I knew Dennis, and I knew what he could do basketball-wise.”

Rodman averaged 5.2 points and 15.3 rebounds with the Bulls, who beat the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1996 NBA Finals and the Utah Jazz in the 1997 and 1998 NBA Finals.

Rodman won three straight rebounding titles in Chicago. 

“You got the great Michael Jordan, the great Scottie Pippen, the great Phil Jackson, but if you take me away from this team, do they still win a championship? I don’t think so,” Rodman said in The Last Dance. “I love Michael Jordan to death. I love Scottie Pippen, all these guys, but they really don’t do the things that I do. 

“I’m the only guy who does all the dirty work, taking abuse from other players. I wanna go out there and get my nose broke. I wanna get cut. Something that’s gonna really just bring out the hurt, the pain. I wanna feel that.”

A Hall of Famer, Rodman finished his NBA career with averages of 7.3 points and 13.1 rebounds. He won five championships and two Defensive Player of the Year Awards and made eight All-Defensive teams, two All-Star teams and two All-NBA teams.