Dennis Rodman entered a rehab treatment program earlier this year to address his substance abuse issues after he was arrested for driving while under the influence, and the former NBA star admitted this week that he has had some slip-ups along the way.
Rodman, whose struggles with alcohol abuse have been well documented, told TMZ that he was sober for a while after his Jan. 13 DUI arrest but started drinking and going to bars over the past two weeks in Newport Beach, Calif. He admitted that Alcoholics Anonymous meetings were helpful at first but became “redundant” after a while.
“In the beginning it was really, really helpful, but after a while I think you get a little bored because of the fact that you hear so much and it’s more like a routine,” Rodman said. “It gets redundant. Every once in a while you just have to go back and put your mind in a situation of why you came there in the beginning.”
Rodman says he reached out to his agent and his AA sponsor after he relapsed and has been going to meetings again, and he feels like he is making progress.
“It’s up to me if I want to do it for the rest of my life,” he said. “It’s a long process and it’s going to take time to get over the hump.”
After he pleaded guilty to DUI in March and avoided jail time, Rodman said he planned to continue with long-term alcohol treatment. He was on probation at the time of his January arrest stemming from a hit-and-run incident in July 2106. While he was not charged with DUI in that case, the details surrounding the incident made it seem like he was impaired.
Rodman has been to rehab several times since his days with the Chicago Bulls.
