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

Brad Smith/ISI Photos/Getty Trinity Rodman

Trinity Rodman isn't your typical 20-year-old.

When she's not playing forward for the Washington Spirit, Rodman is usually creating content for her social media followers, who look forward to the glimpses of her life she shares online.

"I'm very big on connecting with followers, fans, and just overall different people," says Rodman, who has amassed over 159,000 followers on Instagram.

Rodman tells PEOPLE that although she loves connecting with fans on social media, she also deals with the negative messages that come with life in the spotlight, especially considering her father is former NBA star Dennis Rodman.

"I think it's inevitable, everyone's going to have their opinions," says Rodman. "But I think whatever they decide to put out, that's what makes them, them."

Leon Bennett/Getty Trinity Rodman

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Instead, she tries to focus on "embracing being unique" and being herself, "because at the end of the day, it is very difficult, but you're not going to be able to erase the hate," says Rodman.

Despite being the daughter of an NBA legend, Rodman says critics don't often compare her to her father. "I think maybe when I was younger, a lot of people had this expectation that everything was handed to me, but in terms of actually on the field, I don't think I struggled that much with that, just because we do play different sports and I don't think anybody had the performance expectations in a sense," she says.

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Like any other 20-year-old girl, Rodman says it can be challenging to ignore the negativity. "Still being as young as I am, I would go through my comments and see not-so-positive ones and it would upset me," she says. "I've learned to just be confident in myself and be proud of everything that I do."

The soccer star, who recently partnered with Adobe on an International Women's Day initiative that brings together creativity and women's sports to advance equity, says, "There's going to be people out there that have their opinions and don't agree with what you put out, but I think it's just staying true to yourself and putting out what you want others to see."

The Adobe initiative encourages fans to explore their own creativity online along with their favorite NWSL athletes.

"We're going to be making customizable templates for graphics and social media templates for marketing, like logos, flyers," says Rodman, who says the idea is "really cool because it's hard for people to know where to start, especially when they don't have the initial creativity and they want to bounce off something and have a starting piece."

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The NWSL star believes that "especially in the sports world," it can be easy to get caught up on statistics, but she hopes by sharing her own daily life she can inspire fans to get creative in telling their own stories.

"There are so many people that have that creative side, including myself, so I think that initially sparked my interest," Rodman says of the project. "It's a unique way to share your story and have a voice, just explore your passions. I think with these templates, it'll be more intriguing for people to want to engage and ultimately, these NWSL athletes can connect with the people that are following them," says Rodman.