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Lamar Odom Is Not Missing, Says Rep
NBA player Lamar Odom arrives to attend a custody hearing with ex-girlfriend Liza Morales on March 5, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images)
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Amid reports that Clipper Lamar Odom has a "hardcore drug problem" and that he disappeared after an attempted intervention last week, his rep insists Odom is not missing.
Agent Jeff Schwartz would not reveal Odom's whereabouts, telling ESPN.com's Marc Stein earlier today: "Lamar is not missing. His wife knows exactly where he is." ESPN reports that Odom is "in a Los Angeles hotel where friends are trying to get him help for an unspecified drug problem."
Schwartz apparently did not address the drug rumors, but said, "Playing in the NBA is still very much a part of Lamar's plans."
According to TMZ, wife Khloe Kardashian pressured Odom to go to rehab last August. He allegedly went to a facility in San Diego, but Khloe had to hire private investigators to secretly stand guard to make sure he didn't leave. Despite that, he reportedly left after only three weeks.
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He reportedly stayed clean during the Clippers season, but lapsed back into "hardcore recreational drugs," namely, crack cocaine, according to TMZ, once the season ended.
After the "failed intervention" on Wednesday, Khloe was photographed apparently throwing Odom out of the house.
Yesterday, TMZ reported that Odom has been "missing for three days." A rep told them that the athlete is "fine" but wouldn't say where he is.
A unnamed source tells People, "[Khloe]'s kept this secret for almost two years trying to save Lamar and their marriage" and that she "recently came clean and [her family] has been trying to help." Several outlets are reporting that the two are now separated.
Another source who's supposedly close to Odom tells People, "Lamar genuinely doesn't think he has a problem, it's all 'work hard then party hard' with him until it goes off the rails. They really do love each other. But she really feels that this problem is out of control, and she's hurt that he won't get help."
The couple has not been spotted together in public since June 2, and neither has commented on the status of their marriage, according to People.
On Thursday, Kardashian Odom was photographed at the gym sans wedding ring. On August 25, she Tweeted, "Really hard to sit here and listen to people talk shit about my family . . . I'm too protective for this shit!"
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Really hard to sit here and listen to people talk shit about my family! Fuck you and shame on you! I'm too protective for this shit!
— Khloé (@khloekardashian) August 25, 2013
"It's absolutely heartbreaking for her," a friend tells People. "This is such a heavy load."
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