Before I say anything, I wish nothing but the best for Lamar Odom and his entire family.
I was disgusted as I scrolled through Twitter and Facebook this morning and people were throwing malicious words at his name. I wanted to reach through that screen and smack them around a bit. What is wrong with people? Who raised you to make fun of someone while they battle for their life? Pathetic, I was ashamed. Regardless of how you feel about Lamar Odom’s substance abuse, be a human being and show some respect. He is a father, a son, a grandchild, and a husband. I could not wrap my mind around how some people spoke words that I will not repeat. I refuse to give those kinds of people shine.
If you know anything about substance abuse, you know this is no laughing matter. Have you ever been around an alcoholic? A crack head? A meth user? If the answer to any of those questions is yes, then you know how serious Odom’s situation is. You understand the severity of what’s currently happening.
Lamar Odom was found unconscious at the Moonlight Bunny Ranch in Nevada on Tuesday, four days after arriving at the brothel. Officials handling the case have yet to disclose what exactly happened to Odom. According to brothel owner, Dennis Hof, the situation doesn’t look promising. “He doesn’t look like he’ll make it, and if he does, he won’t be the same.” When I first saw that quote, my heart sank. It felt like a close member of my family had been involved.
Me being a Los Angeles Laker fanatic made this one hit a little closer to home. Odom played a big role in LA’s back-to-back NBA Championships in 2009 and 2010. He also was named the NBA’s sixth man of the year in 2011.
I haven’t seen many players as gifted as Odom is. Standing at a staggering 6’ 10, Odom handled and pushed the ball up the court better than most Point Guards. It may be a reason why he went 4 th overall to the Los Angeles Clippers in the 1999 NBA draft. He was gifted, he could do everything on the basketball court and I mean everything. He could guard four positions and anyone who tried to guard him was in one way or another was at a disadvantage. You can’t say that about many players.
Everybody who rooted the Lakers on loved Odom. But it went well beyond what he did on the hardwood. Odom is a good person. He has a good heart. He cares about people. Something a lot of NBA players aren’t necessarily known for.
When reports surfaced of Odom’s condition many NBA players tweeted out their support. Roger Mason Jr, Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, Quentin Richardson, Paul Pierce, and Dwyane Wade were a few of the big names to reach out. But something stood out. Kobe Bryant immediately left the arena after the Lakers Pre-season loss to head to the hospital and visit his wounded brother. How many players can you think of that Kobe and Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak would do that for? Not many. It speaks volumes as to how big of an impact Odom has made to those two off the basketball court.
This goes beyond basketball. This is human being to human being. I wish you the best, Lamar. I really do. I couldn’t imagine being in the spotlight 24/7 like you are. From being a championship winning NBA player, to being married to Khloe Kardashian, you were in headlines every single day. Everybody judging you and making assumptions about you and what you should do, and what was so impressive is how you just took it all in stride. No one is perfect; we all make mistakes. It pains me to see guys who I thought were invincible growing up, finally being shown as human. Get well soon, Lamar. Show them once again that they should never count you out.