Oh &!#%!: Bulls suspend Rodman 2 games

Rodman's week was a total drag

Jordan questions Rodman's motivation

MULTIMEDIA

Decide for yourself if Dennis Rodman should be suspended.
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Scottie Pippen says Rodman has to focus on playing basketball.
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Rodman expresses remorse about his comments.
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Phil Jackson feels the refs were after Rodman, but it's still no excuse for Rodman's outburst.
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Rodman will miss games Wednesday at home against Minnesota and Friday at New Jersey. The suspension will cost Rodman $104,878 in salary, according to the Bulls.

Rodman

The five-time rebounding champion with the multi-colored hair and multiple tattoos was ejected with less than two minutes to go in Sunday's 97-89 loss to the Raptors. Afterward, he went into a profanity-laced indictment of the referees, adding, "I've been trying to be good, the next time I'm going to get my money's worth."

"Dennis' use of foul and abusive language and the embarrassment he caused the Chicago Bulls organization by subjecting young children and loyal fans to his profane outburst cannot and will not be tolerated,'' said Jerry Krause, the Bulls' vice president of basketball operations.

"We condemn in every way what Dennis said and the words he used,'' said Krause, who indicated that the team will donate the $104,878 to charity "so that some good may come out of this situation.''

In an profanity-filled diatribe after he was ejected, Rodman criticized both league officials and the NBA front office. He said NBA referees were being kept "in diapers'' by NBA commissioner David Stern.

A local cable channel ran the interview without editing out Rodman's profanities.

"It's very upsetting," Bulls coach Phil Jackson said. "We're not happy with Dennis exacerbating the situation. The situation spoke for itself. He didn't have to say those things."

The NBA planned to suspend Rodman for the second time in as many seasons until the Bulls took action.

"We did not consider it necessary to take any additional action at this time," said Rod Thorn, the NBA's vice president of basketball operations. "However, we hope that he understands the seriousness of this incident and recognizes that his conduct both during and after the game was completely unacceptable."

Rodman received his first technical foul with three seconds left in the third quarter for a tussle with Raptors forward Popeye Jones. He was ejected with 1:34 remaining after being whistled for an offensive foul under the basket. Rodman waved his hand in disgust at the call and trail official Mike Mathis -- standing nearly 50 feet away at halfcourt -- ejected Rodman.

Prior to being suspended Tuesday, Rodman, 35, offered an apology to the officials.

"I used a lot of words that weren't called for," he said. "I had to express my opinion, but I guess I should have expressed it in the shower. I apologize to people that it was directed to. But I just want to say it was in the heat of battle and I made a mistake."

Rodman has had numerous run-ins with officials, including the head-butting of referee Ted Bernhardt last March at New Jersey that earned him a six-game suspension. Upon his return, he kept his emotions in check and helped lead Chicago to a record 72-10 mark and its fourth championship in six years.

Since joining the Bulls from San Antonio in 1995, Rodman has cultivated a "lovable bad boy" image that placed him ninth among sports figures in 1996 earnings with $12.9 million, according to Forbes Magazine. That image has led to various sponsorship deals and a half-hour variety show on MTV that debuted Sunday night.

However, superstar teammates Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen have questioned Rodman's commitment on the court. Jordan said last week that Rodman needs to focus on basketball.

The defending champion Bulls were a league-best 17-1 until the weekend, when they lost to Miami and Toronto. In those games, Rodman was outplayed by Miami forward P.J. Brown, who had 11 points and 14 rebounds, and Jones, who had 12 and 18.

"It's hard to get up for every game," Rodman said after the loss at Toronto.

Prior to his arrival in Chicago, Rodman was simply a bad boy. He missed numerous practices in two seasons in San Antonio and was a distraction in the 1994 and 1995 playoffs, disrupting team chemistry.

Rodman began his career with the Detroit in 1986 and helped the Pistons win consecutive titles in 1989 and 1990. He was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1990 and 1991 and won the first of his five rebounding titles in 1992.

In his autobiography "Bad As I Wanna Be," Rodman revealed that he was contemplating suicide when he was found alone shooting baskets at The Palace of Auburn Hills (Mich.) with a gun in his car in 1992.