Dennis Rodman Shuts Down Critics After Wearing a Skirt to Pride Parade: 'Do Your Research Guys'

The retired NBA star has been an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community since his basketball-playing days

The Worm is representing!

NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman, 62, celebrated Pride Month in Houston on Saturday with a surprise appearance at the city’s 45th annual LGBTQ+ Pride parade.

“Love will Always Win🌈Happy Pride #gaypride #loveislove #pridemonth,” Rodman wrote on Instagram, alongside two photos and a video clip showing him greeting parade-goers at the downtown event.

The colorful former athlete wore a plaid green pleated miniskirt and a shirt from his Rodman Apparel line, featuring his 90s-era visage which sported once-controversial rainbow hair.

The retired forward, who played on the Detroit Pistons, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks over 14 seasons from 1986-2000 — has long been a supporter of the LGBTQ+ community.

Related: Dennis Rodman's Son D.J. to Join Bronny James at the University of Southern California

"It's amazing that we are showing love to the gay community that we love," Rodman told ABC13 while walking the parade route. "They are showing love for the gay community and love for the world."

But after his initial Instagram post received some negative comments, Rodman spoke out on his Instagram Story.

“Do your research guys,” he wrote over a collection of photos which showed him dressed in then-envelope-pushing outfits, including his infamous wedding dress, #beenhim.”

Related: Trinity Rodman Opens Up About Social Media Pressure and Being Compared to Her Father

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For the outspoken Rodman, expressing himself has never been a problem. In 2019, he told Business Insider that he has been encouraged by the evolution of gay athletes in professional sports — and added he broke through when he appeared in drag on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1995.

“They didn’t know the fact that when [they] shot that cover for the Sports Illustrated that that was the best-selling Sports Illustrated ever,” Rodman said. “And then the gay community started to reach out to me and said, ‘Wow, we never knew that our community can be represented like that in sports.’ And people didn’t know at the time that I was doing that.”

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