COMMENTARY : RODMAN, A FATHER FIGURE? SHIELDS DAUGHTER FROM USUAL BEHAVIOR.

Byline: Ira Berkow The New York Times

Dennis Rodman was the perfect gentleman, or gentlewoman, as the case may be. It had nothing to do with his topping this year's list of the worst-dressed women, announced Tuesday by Mr. Blackwell. (``In fishnet and feathers, he's a unisex mess,'' Blackwell said of Rodman.)

And it certainly had nothing to do with his having kicked a cameraman in or near the groin after falling out of bounds while in pursuit of a rebound in the Bulls' game Wednesday night at Minnesota - the latest in a career of loopy, if not, as in this instance, hurtful stunts.

No, the unlikely act of civility at issue took place when Chicago played Indiana last Dec. 30. Seated at courtside was Rodman's 8-year-old daughter, Alexis. She had flown to Chicago from Sacramento to visit her father, who is divorced from her mother.

It was one of the little girl's first visits to her dad. It may be recalled that when Rodman last year was promoting his autobiography, ``Bad As I Wanna Be,'' he described his great love for his daughter. And on Oprah Winfrey's show to promote the tome, he broke down in tears when the subject of Alexis was raised.

So Alexis in her front row seat for the Indiana game watched her father, the demon rebounder, grab 14 boards in the first quarter alone - tying a Bulls record - and even hit a few shots. He played a princely game.

More noteworthy was his emotional control. I was in Chicago and caught the game on television. The broadcasters mentioned several times that Rodman, because his daughter was looking on, seemed to be on his best behavior. It was as if he didn't want to embarrass her by doing something - well, Rodmanesque.

While he hadn't dyed his hair back to its natural hue - it was, that night, chartreuse or turquoise or vermilion or a combination of the above - and while he did nothing to obscure the tornado of tattoos on his body, which resembles a Brooklyn subway car, Rodman also did not head-butt a referee, or a mascot; did not try to knee an opponent driving to the basket, and did not jaw with a fan, or spew profanities into a television camera. All of which has been business that has engaged him. In the Indiana game, anyway, Rodman was a candidate for gold stars on his report card.

In Wednesday's game, film clips show him spilling over the legs and cameras of photographers behind the basket, where they are always placed. He got angry about something and kicked the nearest cameraman between the legs.

Why? Because he was angry? To an extent. Closer to the truth is that he surely feels he can do whatever he pleases and that the punishment will be minimal. Besides, the wilder he acts, the more off-court money he makes - an estimated $9 million in endorsements, appearances, and movie and book deals. Some advertisers, according to Marty Blackman, a New York sports marketer, want to appeal to those young people who admire a rebellious nature, no matter how clownish.

``I want to challenge people's image of what an athlete is supposed to be,'' Rodman said in his book. In his case, then, an athlete should get himself suspended for several games, or receive technicals, and risk hurting his team, as long as he is being ``himself.''

Rodman made a joke out of the kicking incident, which resulted in the cameraman leaving the court on a stretcher and being taken to a hospital. Rodman, among some others, doubted how much pain the cameraman was in, and said he might send the cameraman flowers, and sign the card, ``Love, Dennis.''

What might even be funnier, and more useful, is for Rodman finally to receive a meaningful punishment.

No matter what the league or the police in Minneapolis decide to do, I suggest one of two routes. The first, and perhaps less effective, would be to fine him not, say, $100,000 - about what he got from the Bulls for his profanity-laced postgame television interview last month. This latest incident is grimmer, dealing with trying to cause bodily harm to another person (how much actual harm is another issue).