There’s some growing consternation on the part of Metta World Peace when it comes to the visitors Lamar Odom is getting, as he slowly fights back from the coma he fell into last week while visiting a Nevada brothel. Metta thinks Odom’s children — 17-year-old daughter, Destiny, and 13-year-old son, Lamar Jr. — aren’t getting time enough with dad because of celebrities rushing to visit and offer condolences.
Odom is getting better, and receiving visitors, including the Clippers (Blake and DeAndre Jordan stopped by), Kobe Bryant, Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak, former teammate and Warriors assistant coach Luke Walton, and most of the Kardashian family.
Many already know Odom’s estranged wife is Khloe Kardashian. That means — at least initially — her entire reality TV family was also at the Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center in Nevada this past week. Some are even blaming the Kardashian brood for Lamar’s present condition, or simply referring to Odom as somehow ancillary to the Kardashian fame bubble now dominating headlines beside his condition.
The latter narrative isn’t grounded in reality. Lamar is a fantastic basketball player, and the Kardashian overlap is a coincidence of circumstance more than something that should — or, at least to some, has come to — define him.
Because the story has now gotten so big, the fame machine is involved. Bill Oram of the Orange County Register was getting direct quotes from the Rev. Jesse Jackson on Odom’s condition last week. All the usual celebrity rags and online entities are reporting Lamar’s progress, and basketball writers have given TMZ more traffic than when Donald Sterling’s audio tape leaked.
The enormity of the story is taking a toll in more personal ways, too, at least to some. According to Odom’s former Lakers and childhood AAU teammate, Metta World Peace, the celebrity well-wishers are getting in the way of Odom’s children spending time with their dad. Here’s what World Peace told Mark Medina of the LA Daily News:
“This is nothing against Khloe [Kardhasian],” World Peace said, referring to the reality television star and Odom’s estranged wife. “This is for the celebrities that are coming to see Lamar. They should know they’re taking time away from Lamar’s children.”
[…]
“The only Kardashian that needs to be there is Khloe,” World Peace said. “Not every Kardashian needs to be around. They need to keep it simple, so Lamar’s children can see him whenever they want to see him. They’re waiting in line to see their own father.”
It should be noted that World Peace’s brother, Daniel, who also knew Odom when they were younger, was in Las Vegas but was not allowed in to see Odom.
We agree with a lot of World Peace’s sentiment, and it’s unclear who is calling the shots since Lamar is still recovering and there’s risk of brain damage. Hopefully, Odom’s kids are spending as much time as doctors can allow with their recovering father. One would hope they’re not getting passed over for famous people looking for a photo op. But it’s unclear how much Metta might know or how much of this is frustrated speculation since he’s not at the hospital.
(Via Los Angeles Daily News)
