Lamar Odom, a former professional basketball player and reality TV star, is reportedly fighting for his life in a Las Vegas hospital after he was found unresponsive at a brothel.
The 35-year-old former Los Angeles Lakers standout and ex-husband of Khloe Kardashian suffered a medical emergency on Tuesday at the Love Ranch brothel in Crystal, Nevada and was taken to hospital, the Nye County Sheriff's Office said.
It was the latest episode in Odom's roller-coaster personal and professional life. Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center, where Odom was taken, declined to comment on his condition, citing patient confidentiality.
But celebrity website TMZ.com cited unidentified sources as saying Odom was in a coma and that some of his organs were failing.
Another outlet, E!, also cited unnamed sources in reporting that Odom suffered brain damage and at least one stroke, and was on a ventilator after taking multiple drugs. The E! cable TV channel airs the reality show Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
The legal brothel's owner, Dennis Hof, said that, during his three-day stay, Odom had been taking large amounts of "herbal Viagra," a non-prescription product which can dramatically lower blood pressure and interact with other medications.
Khloe Kardashian, whose whirlwind romance with Odom was captured in Keeping Up With the Kardashians and its spin-off, Khloe and Lamar, was at his bedside, TMZ and Us Weekly reported.
The couple split in 2013 after four years of marriage and their divorce was finalised in July this year, though she has remained in close contact with him.
Odom's hospitalisation followed a downturn in a 14-season career with National Basketball Association teams, including the Lakers from 2004-2011. On top of the pressures of the life of a top NBA player, Odom, whose mother died when he was 12, had to deal with being a reality TV star after marrying Kardashian.
The 2-metre-tall athlete has long been reported to have had issues with cocaine abuse, although this has never been publicly confirmed. He has admitted only to using marijuana.
During the 2000-2001 season, Odom was suspended for violating the NBA's antidrug policy. In 2013, he pleaded no contest in Los Angeles to a charge of driving under the influence and was ordered to undergo rehabilitation for three months for alcohol abuse.
