Hospital officials provided no immediate word on the condition of the year-old former Los Angeles Laker and member-by-marriage of the Kardashian clan, who was found facedown at the Love Ranch Tuesday afternoon, according to brothel owner Dennis Hof.
Hof said Odom had been taking herbal Viagra and had drunk part of a bottle of cognac since arriving; he said he had no knowledge that Odom used any other drugs. Odom emerged from a difficult childhood in Queens as one of the most promising basketball talents of his generation, and spent most of his year NBA career in Los Angeles with the Lakers and Clippers, becoming a fan favorite and a beloved teammate of Kobe Bryant.
And after his made-on-TV marriage to Kardashian broke up in , his behavior became erratic. But two women went to check on Odom Tuesday afternoon after not hearing from him since early morning, and found him face down and unconscious. Authorities were called to the ranch in Crystal, Nevada, about p. Wehrly said in a statement. Odom was stabilized and taken to Desert View Hospital in nearby Pahrump.
They tried to airlift him from there to Las Vegas, but the 6-footinch Odom was too tall for the available helicopter and he was driven about 70 miles instead to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center. His whirlwind engagement and wedding with Kardashian was taped for the E! People always seemed to root for Odom, a fallible, Everyman personality whose prematurely weathered face wore the impact of his personal tragedies in a friendly way that seemed to acknowledge his lowest points even when he reached the heights of pop-culture fame in sports and reality TV.
Kardashian filed for divorce in , citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce has not yet received final approval from a judge. After seven years in purple and gold, he was crushed in December when the Lakers attempted to trade him to New Orleans in a multiplayer trade for Chris Paul.
