Lock up the children. Dennis Rodman wants to be a role model.

President Clinton recently said about Dennis Rodman that he was a fan of Rodman, but that “there are an awful lot of young people out there … who don’t have immediate positive male role models who can contradict a lapse by an athlete.”

How did Rodman react to this? Did he head butt the president?

No even scarier, he declared that he was going to become a better role model and donate the remainder of this year’s salary to charity.

He went so far as to say that the president’s words had really woken him up.

So now it seems that Dennis has seen the light and everything is going to be different from here on out. Uh-huh.

And oh yeah there’s the little matter of him being in the middle of an 11-game suspension for his recent dropkicking attempt on a cameraman’s genitals.

As a result of that act, Rodman was recently yanked as the spokesman for a chain of Chicago- based restaurants and I think this as much as the president’s talk woke him up.

I think there’s more behind this role model talk then Dennis suddenly seeing the error of his ways.

I think he is taking a stand now to ensure a future source of income for himself.

In all likelihood, based on his age and his own admission, this is his last season in the NBA and he’s going to have to find a new source of income. This means endorsing products and merchandising.

He’s already got a show on MTV, “The Rodman World Tour,” and a Dennis doll that comes with a basketball uniform and a more Rodmanesque set of clothes (metallic open-chest vest and high heel boots) recently hit the shelves. What’s next a breakfast cereal?

I can see it now — “Wormios” — with little rye likenesses of Dennis’ bald head and multicolored marshmallow hair pieces that change color in milk.

Imagine the commercial. … Little cartoon cameramen chasing Dennis through the forest trying to get his Wormios. When they get a little too close he kicks the snot out of them.

It may be that Dennis is honestly going to try to behave himself. But I doubt it.

Dennis will make a big show of remorse, maybe break into tears like he did on ESPN’s “Up Close” or on “Oprah” and then a week later there he’ll be in the news again .

Whether it’s the head butt of the referee last year of the kick to the camera man this year, he always seems to find a way to raise the bar (track term) for stupidity with each outlandish incident.

This only makes me wonder what the results of his next explosion will be. How’s he going to top this last performance?

No, I don’t think Dennis is worried about being a better role model and it’s only a matter of time before he reaches meltdown, again. I think he’s more worried about his wallet and you can take that to the bank.

---

Kevin Petty is a senior in journalism and mass communications from Carlisle, Iowa.