Former basketball player Dennis Rodman was arrested Wednesday night on suspicion of domestic violence, authorities said today.

Rodman was arrested at 10:15 p.m. in Century City at a hotel in the 2100 block of Avenue of the Stars.

"During the investigation, police learned he had hit a woman and she suffered injuries to her arms," said Richard French, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department.

Rodman was booked at the Van Nuys jail at 2:50 a.m. today. He was released less than two hours later on $50,000 bail.

Steve Simon, one of Rodman's managers, said Rodman has been struggling to cope with a recent divorce. Simon said his client has not been able to see his children.

"He's been really heartbroken about it, and it hasn't been a great time for him," said Simon, who was reached at the offices of the Prince Marketing Group.

Simon said that alcohol was involved in the altercation, which left the woman with a bruise. Rodman has sought help for substance abuse problems in the past.

"The legal process will sort itself out," Simon said. "I'm kind of waiting for the facts to unfold because it's really uncharacteristic for him."

Rodman played on five NBA championship teams, first with the Detroit Pistons and later with the Chicago Bulls. On the court he was known for his defensive prowess, twice earning NBA defensive player of the year honors.

Off the court Rodman earned a reputation for his flamboyant personal life, making headlines for cross-dressing, ever-changing hairstyles, body piercings and tattoos. There was also his quickie, and short-lived, Las Vegas wedding to actress Carmen Electra.

He has also had numerous encounters with law enforcement, including an arrest on suspicion of of public drunkenness after he was seen driving his 47-foot speedboat, Sexual Chocolate, erratically.

The end of his latest marriage, to Michelle Moyer, came after a long history of problems between them.

In 2004, Rodman sold his Newport Beach home -- the site of numerous parties and ensuing calls to police from neighbors -- after Moyer, with whom he has two children, filed for divorce.

Earlier that year, she obtained a temporary restraining order preventing her husband from coming within 100 yards of her. She said in court documents at the time that in January 2003 Rodman punched her and that police were called 2 1/2 years earlier because he had threatened her.

Her court filing contained what she described as her husband's "history of domestic violence, not only with me, but with many other women he has had relationships with. [His] hostile temper and aggressive behavior coupled with his drunkenness and large stature make me apprehensive he may cause me bodily injury any time he does not get his way."

ron.lin@latimes.com