Something rather odd happened lately.
In fact, dare I say that in this day and age of social media nitpicking at the superstar’s lifestyle, pretty much the exact opposite happened than what I thought would happen in this whole Lamar Odom situation.
Follow me, if you will.
Earlier this week, we all took to the internet to find out that current (or former, I’m not sure which) NBA player and current (or former, once again I’m not sure which) husband of Khloe Kardashian, Lamar Odom had been hospitalized and was on life support.
Tragic news.
Details soon emerged that not only was he near death but he had been found in a brothel (not once described as a whorehouse in any report I saw) with traces of cocaine and herbal Viagra in his system.
The outpouring of support was overwhelming. Everyone with a Twitter account rushed to his defense, citing how serious addiction is (which it is) and what a troubled caring soul Odom was (which he may very well be).
Probably in poor taste, I took to Twitter to see if I could find any jokes about his condition, you know, just stopping by to see what condition his condition was in. After all, it’s not every day that we find an athlete of his stature keeled over in a whorehouse hopped up on coke and boner pills.
The only joke I could find, and I looked for hours, was from Ralphie May who Tweeted “I just heard Lamar Odom was found unconscious in a Nevada whorehouse. What do you think that runs, $8,000? More less?”
God bless the professional comedian for helping us keep things in perspective.
Perhaps more nauseating than the lack of jokes in this situation was the fact that I found countless Tweets commending Kobe Bryant for leaving practice to rush to Odom’s bedside, serving as a testament to Bryant’s character. Spare me.
Call me inappropriate or perhaps even occasionally tasteless but I guess I was just surprised about how this whole thing went down. Not a single soul questioned Odom’s judgment. When did we suddenly become so sympathetic to Lamar Odom’s plight? He must have really won people over on that Kardashian show or perhaps we just feel bad for a guy who has been sucked into their web of horror. Nah, that doesn’t make sense either. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be giving Bruce Jenner so much shit about his sex change.
Imagine if this were anyone else. Local politician? Career ruined. Movie star? Box office disaster. Any athlete who drives drunk immediately becomes a pariah, never mind if he’s found cracked out in a whorehouse (or is it whored out in a crack house, again… I’m not sure which).
When I shuffle off this mortal coil, I want to be helicoptered out of a Las Vegas whorehouse, er… brothel, surrounded by scantily-clad and recently showered hookers to a standing ovation, an empty Ziploc bag of “goodies” in my pants pocket and a smile on my face. Heck, why not throw a parade in my honor?
I can receive Get Well cards and flowers from all my fans. Dr. Milhouse can send me edible arrangements again. I can wave and throw kisses from my hospital room window. It’ll be special.
Lamar Odom must be one helluva guy for not a single person to crack a joke about how he was found and the condition he was found in. Or maybe the Kardashians paid to have them all removed from the internet.
Millions of us struggle with addiction. I’m not saying we should lambast the guy. Nor am I suggesting we shouldn’t feel sorry for a troubled soul who underachieved both on the basketball court and in his marital affairs. It just seems odd that Odom is getting a pass, that’s all. The candle light vigils outside the Bunny Ranch were a bit excessive.
Look, I wish Lamar Odom all the best for a speedy recovery. But we missed a golden opportunity here. Lamar Odom was found PASSED OUT AT THE BUNNY RANCH HOPPED UP ON COCAINE AND VIAGRA and all we could do was feel sorry for the guy?
I certainly hope we’re not getting soft, America. No pun intended.
The jokes are certainly out there. I’ve been inundated with memes since it went down.
One of the best was from our boy Han today.
Starts off :
Lamar Odom?
(Then shows Charlie Sheen with hands in the air looking wasted on a balcony)
“I call that a Tuesday”
LMFAO!
Look, I have love for Lamar from his Lakers days and I hope he recovers, but I certainly don’t feel sorry for him. He’s a multi-millionaire dropping $75g’s at a time on hookers, coke and Viagra…Shit, if anything I’m jealous.
…Except for the Kardashian part…That’s just plain stupid.
I did see that one today, Bleed.
But prior to his recovery, everybody and their mother was like “Oh my God, poor Lamar.”
For what exactly?
Hell, if I had to be around that Kardasihian bunch I would be doing blow and Viagra too!!! Can you imagine being in the same room with all of them at same time? Where’s the tequila when you need it?
There’s probably not enough tequila in Mexico to ease that pain, Moose.
He gets little sympathy from me, if any.
Only a very few athletes make it to the show, in any sport. He did. He’s not the first man ever to go through a divorce—from a Kardashian no less.
He needed to “get away” for a few days, so he goes to a brothel and takes drugs and overdoses on sex? And he gets our sympathy? What message does this send him? That he was a victim? That he did the right thing, and that’s okay to do it again should he recover completely?
I’ve worked to become less judgmental as I’ve aged. The lord knows I’m not perfect, have made some poor choices, have brought shame to myself. But I can’t say I sympathize with this guy. He brought it on himself.
Chris,
How many of your readers can reflect/detect a Kenny Rogers line?
” just stopping by to see what condition his condition was in.” Well placed and well before your time. That’s KR and the “First Edition” stuff.
Current topic Odom and NV brothels. The pictured promo is kinda deceiving. I never saw anything that attractive. However they are tested weekly by the health dept. For the 75k that Odom paid, they have the ability to screw you to death.
This IS weird. Amazingly there is nothing visible to me but sympathy and best wishes and what a tough break this all is. People are honoring the Kardashian’s wishes for respect while they’re likely filming the whole thing for next May’s E network sweeps. My God did the universe turn upside down on this one. The best part is if Lamar had so many good, dear friends why has he been in a public tail spin for so long with no intervention? His suicidal antics didn’t just start with this…
Quite simple.. His life has been filled with one tragedy after another. He’s likeable and people can relate to him. When he was on TV with his wife, you saw a gentle, loving man that personally, couldn’t seem to catch a break. Their love story was romantic and you were sucked in. Rooting for him to finally come out on top. When he was traded by the Lakers, he was devastated. It was another loss for him. He’s a good guy that’s made bad choices. He struggles with depression. Money is not the magic cure. He’s an underdog of sorts and we all know how America loves to root for the underdog. I hope he gets the help he desperately needs.
Chris
Herbal Viagra , alcohol and no doubt an opiate (cocaine) in his mix . No wonder his balls dribbled and the bounce pass was non-operational . Lamar Odom now getting more press because he can’t get his manhood to operate . He shoots and fires a blank
Kind of sums up the Lakers during this preseason as well , doesn’t it ?
I’m with you on this one, Guest.
Like I suggested in the piece, I don’t wish ill will on the guy and I’m glad he’s recovered but it seemed like we were about to name a national holiday after him.
Hmmm… I wonder what we’d call it.
Bets…
That Rogers track made a comeback thanks to “The Big Lebowski” so Kenny has the Coen brothers to thank for its revival.
Can’t say I even thought the girls in that photo were all that. I like an experienced woman but let’s just say I prefer mine slightly less seasoned.
Damn, Burnsy, perfectly put.
If you’re not careful, the Odom-Kardashian mix might look to hire you as their new PR consultant.
I’d worry about the benefit package.
I’m not buying it, Flowers.
First of all, what in the world are you doing watching the Kardashians?
And Odom couldn’t catch a break? This might be a case of not recognizing what you have and bitching about what you don’t.
This is a talented, six-foot-ten black man who was able to play professional basketball for a living, in Los Angeles, while earning two titles not to mention well over $100,000,000 over his career.
I’m not too sure how many violins are playing for him.
Al…
This season, I think the Lakers are in for far worse than that.
It was announced today that the divorce has been called off by Khloe and Lamar. Papers were filed in 2013, but it hadn’t been finalized yet.
LOL…Only in Kardashian world does your husband overdosing on hookers, herbal viagra and cocaine constitute a cause for reconciliation.
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