Ben Shelton attended his girlfriend Trinity Rodman's match on Saturday, Sept. 26,and the ION broadcast team was ready for its moment.
The network showed the tennis star on the screen, but cheekily only referred to him as "Trinity Rodman's boyfriend" – likely a nod to the minor controversy surrounding one of Rodman's many recent appearances at Shelton's U.S. Open matches.
At one match in particular, Rodman was shown on ESPN with a chyron that read: “Ben’s girlfriend & USWNT player” – which angered some fans who felt Rodman's soccer exploits should have been more prominent in her on-screen title.
On Saturday, ION returned the favor during the Washington Spirit's home match against Angel City FC.
‘Trinity Rodman’s boyfriend’ I see you, graphics op.
#nwsl #uswnt 🎾 ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/jNrQw4zMQ4
— Sebastian Salazar (@SebiSalazarFUT) September 26, 2026
Rodman was a fixture at Shelton's run to the U.S. Open final, where he lost to Alexander Zverev.
The Washington Spirit star had a game that kicked off an hour before the U.S. Open final, and managed to make her way from D.C. to New York City in time to see the end of Shelton's match.
Rodman also attended a four-hour, five-set quarterfinals marathon where Shelton beat defending champion Carlos Alcaraz at 3:30 a.m. ET. Only six hours later, Rodman was back in training with the Spirit in Virginia.
Shelton and Rodman went public with their relationship in March 2025, instantly becoming one of American sports' power couples.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NWSL broadcaster makes cheeky nod to earlier Rodman-Shelton TV dust-up
