Rodman is everybody's All-American

Showdown verdict: No corporate dollars for Rodman

... or covering it up, Dennis Rodman has America's attention.

Whether displaying his latest hair color ...

Much more than games and championships, sports today means entertainment, fashion, pop culture, merchandising, and superstar personalities. Professional athletes are rock stars by another name and sports is a business that has started taking its cues from Hollywood, a town where stars don't have to be mainstream to shine brightly.

Dennis Rodman certainly isn't mainstream, but he reflects much of life in late 20th Century America. Rodman embodies grunge, rage, emotional torment, sexual ambiguity, rebellion, and family dysfunction. At the same time, Rodman is an outstanding basketball player, a gifted athlete, a winner well on his way to his fourth NBA championship ring, and a person who knows how to live life passionately.

Rodman is a post-modern athlete living in a pre-millenium world where it is increasingly difficult to cut through the clutter and get noticed, much less make sense. While distasteful and abhorrent to some, Rodman has crafted for himself a style that resonates with a lot of people. He strikes a responsive chord, especially with teenagers, and this is what has compelled companies to sign Rodman to advertising and endorsement contracts worth at least $10 million.

Rodman can deliver for companies and they know it.

"Our target audience consists of 12- to 17-year-old kids and Dennis is someone who appeals to them," said Nick Merigioli, Director of Basketball Marketing at Converse. "He's more than a basketball player. He's an entertainer. Dennis is very different. He shows his individuality, and we see that as a positive."

ZONE POLL

"We knew that Dennis is controversial," said Whitney Beebe, director of advertising for Mistic Beverages. "But we feel people have the right to be individuals and show their colors, so to speak. We're targeting teens and young adults making lifestyle decisions. Dennis Rodman appeals to this audience."

Not every company that works with sports figures wants to embrace the traditional, wholesome, Middle American image of the professional athlete to reach consumers. Some crave and need a star with edge, a star who is as disturbing as he is alluring. Rodman brings out the voyeur in many of us and, because he is so much wrapped up into one explosive, shocking package, he is in some respects as All-American as you can get.

This is not to say Dennis Rodman's outbursts on the basketball court are proper or acceptable. They are not. And that is exactly why NBA commissioner David Stern has rightly said that Rodman's conduct on the playing court "must meet acceptable standards," unless he wants his NBA career to come to a premature end.

However, Rodman's antics do not and should not invalidate his cultural currency. Much like Howard Stern and pre-maternal Madonna, Dennis Rodman is raw energy and pure id. Psychic shock value often translates to increased stock value, and that's why Dennis Rodman is completely legitimate for Corporate America.

Jeffrey Pollack is President and Publisher of The Sports Business Daily, the first daily trade publication dedicated to sports. You can send mail to Pollack at jeffrey@sportsbizdaily.com.