Lamar Odom triumphed on the basketball court, but struggled in his real life.
“I’ve been burying people for a long time,” says Odom.
Much of Lamar’s life was sadly filled will numerous deaths, which probably attributed to his current demise.
Early Life
Ever since Lamar was a little boy, he was subject to his father’s heroin addiction, and his mother, Cathy Mercer, sadly passed away from colon cancer when Lamar was just 12-years-old.
Lamar didn’t grow up with much of a father figure, being that his father Joe Odom, was absent for most of his life, and to have his mother die at such a young age took a toll on Lamar.
NBA
Odom’s grandmother, Mildred Mercer stepped in to raise him, but sadly she too passed on her 80th birthday in 2003, and Lamar was 20 at the time, already playing in the NBA.
Lamar had three children of his own at this point- Destiny in 1998, Lamar Jr. in 2002, and Jayden in 2005, all with ex-girlfriend Liza Morales. But tragedy struck again when Jayden was just six months old, and Jayden died from SIDS while sleeping in his crib, three years to the day of Odom’s grandma’s death!
Happier times were on the horizon when Lamar met and married Khloe Kardashian in 2009, but things quickly went south.
Lamar’s illustrious 14-year NBA career came to an end in 2012 after an awkward ending with the Dallas Mavericks. As ESPN put it, Odom struggled to adapt to his new team and surroundings. Mavericks president Donnie Nelson said, “He’s dealt with a lot of personal issues. At this point, we need to be able to count on some things. It’s never easy to do these things. We just need to move on.”
Demise
In 2013, Odom reportedly went missing for days after loved ones failed to contact him, and many feared he was on a drug binge.
Shortly after, he was pulled over by authorities for being under the influence of alcohol and driving under the speed limit in San Fernando Valley. He failed a sobriety test, according to TMZ, and eventually wound up striking a deal with the court by pleading no contest in exchange for three years probation.
In August 2013, after four years of marriage, Lamar and Khloe separated, and he allegedly refused an intervention for his consistent drug problem.
Odom’s estranged father then decided to speak out against the Kardashian family in September 2013, and Odom fires back on Twitter saying:
“He wasn’t there 2 raise me. He was absent ALL my life due to his own demons. My mother and grandmother raised me. Queens raised me.” He follows with “The Kardashians were the only ones that have been here consistently 4 me during this dark time.”
Seemingly under the influence of drugs, Odom starred in a rap video free-styling nonsensical lyrics. The shocking three-minute clip quickly went viral, and Odom was shown rapping about using drugs to make “all the pain go away” and cheating on his wife.
Fast forward to 2015 and two of Lamar’s friends suddenly passed away. Bobby Hayward died of a drug overdose, and Lamar’s best friend, Jamie Sangouthai died of a flesh-eating infection.
After two years in divorce limbo, both Khloe and Lamar signed papers making their divorce nearly official, but not quite.
Now
Just a few days ago, Odom was discovered unconscious at the Love Ranch in Nevada by two sex workers. It has been reported that he had “virtually every drug imaginable” in his system, when he overdosed at the brothel. Khloe, Kris Jenner and Kim Kardashian rushed to Odom’s bedside at Las Vegas’ Sunrise Hospital, but sadly he remains in a coma.
With this guy, one thing has seemed to lead to the next, and we are hoping he can recover, and go on to get the help he so desperately needs.
[Featured Image Credit: thisis50.com]