Lamar Odom: ‘Death Always Seems to Be Around Me’


Lamar Odom spoke to the LA Times about how difficult it’s been for him to deal with the fact that so many people around his life have passed away: “Odom, in New York last month for a slain cousin’s funeral, was a passenger in a car that crashed with a motorcycle, leading to the death of a pedestrian. ‘I’ve been burying people for a long time,’ says Odom, whose mother died when he was 12 and who lost an infant son in 2006. The Lakers forward spoke deliberately and expressed how emotional it has been for him to deal with two recent deaths. Odom attended a funeral in New York on July 13 for his 24-year-old cousin, who Odom said was murdered. The next day, Odom was a passenger in an SUV in Queens when it collided with a motorcycle. The motorcycle went out of control and hit a 15-year old pedestrian, Awsaf Alvi Islam, police said. The boy died from head injuries the following day. No charges have been filed, and the accident is under investigation, police said. The toll of these tragedies has weighed heavily on Odom. ‘Death always seems to be around me,’ Odom said in a low tone. ‘I’ve been burying people for a long time. When I had to bury my child, I probably didn’t start grieving until a year and a half later. I think the effects of seeing [my cousin] die and then watching this kid die, it beat me down. I consider myself a little weak. I thought I was breaking down mentally. I’m doing a lot of reflecting.’ Odom said he didn’t eat much for ‘eight or nine days’ after the events. All the while, thoughts of dark moments in his life consumed him.”