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Report: Isiah hospitalized after accidental OD of sleeping pills
Oct. 24, 2008
CBSSports.com staff and wire reports
NEW YORK -- A 47-year-old man was taken to the hospital and treated for an accidental overdose of sleeping pills Friday at the suburban home of former New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas, police said.
A source confirmed to New York television station CBS 2 that the man in question is Thomas, who is 47.
The Knicks fired Isiah Thomas as president and head coach on 18. (Getty Images)
Harrison Police Chief David Hall said the case was not a suicide attempt. Police would not identify the victim to the Associated Press, except to give his age.
"We're classifying it as an accidental overdose of ************ sleeping pills," Hall said Friday. "I'm not going to confirm or deny that it was Isiah Thomas. It was an individual at his home."
Madison Square Garden spokesman Barry Watkins told the Journal News newspaper, "Isiah is fine."
The Knicks had no official comment. A message left with Thomas' public relations agency wasn't immediately returned.
An ambulance responded to a 911 call early Friday, and a person was taken to White Plains Hospital Center, about 5 miles from the home, Harrison Officer Vincent Lanzillotti said.
Late Friday afternoon, a small SUV escorted by a police car pulled into a private road leading to the luxury development in Westchester County where Thomas lives, about 30 miles from midtown Manhattan.
Thomas purchased the house on Azalea Circle in Purchase for more than $4 million in 2004, according to the Journal News.
Thomas was fired from the Knicks on April 18 after presiding over perhaps the most dismal era in the history of the franchise.
Last season, Thomas was found to have sexually harassed a former team employee, feuded with point guard Stephon Marbury and benched center Eddy Curry -- the players Thomas acquired in the two biggest of a number of moves that never panned out.
He was serenaded nightly with Garden chants of "Fire Isiah!" When he was dismissed, his record in New York was 56-108. Overall, he is 187-223 as an NBA coach, leading the Indiana Pacers to the playoffs in three straight years from 2000-03.
Thomas was hired as the Knicks' team president on Dec. 22, 2003. The Knicks made the playoffs that season, getting swept by New Jersey, but haven't gone back despite their high-paid lineup.
Still, Garden chairman James Dolan remained confident in Thomas, making him coach in June 2006 after firing Larry Brown following one season.
As a player, Thomas was one of the NBA's great point guards, winning NBA titles with the Detroit in 1989 and 1990. In college, he led Indiana to a national championship in 1981.
Oct. 24, 2008
CBSSports.com staff and wire reports
NEW YORK -- A 47-year-old man was taken to the hospital and treated for an accidental overdose of sleeping pills Friday at the suburban home of former New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas, police said.
A source confirmed to New York television station CBS 2 that the man in question is Thomas, who is 47.
The Knicks fired Isiah Thomas as president and head coach on 18. (Getty Images)
Harrison Police Chief David Hall said the case was not a suicide attempt. Police would not identify the victim to the Associated Press, except to give his age.
"We're classifying it as an accidental overdose of ************ sleeping pills," Hall said Friday. "I'm not going to confirm or deny that it was Isiah Thomas. It was an individual at his home."
Madison Square Garden spokesman Barry Watkins told the Journal News newspaper, "Isiah is fine."
The Knicks had no official comment. A message left with Thomas' public relations agency wasn't immediately returned.
An ambulance responded to a 911 call early Friday, and a person was taken to White Plains Hospital Center, about 5 miles from the home, Harrison Officer Vincent Lanzillotti said.
Late Friday afternoon, a small SUV escorted by a police car pulled into a private road leading to the luxury development in Westchester County where Thomas lives, about 30 miles from midtown Manhattan.
Thomas purchased the house on Azalea Circle in Purchase for more than $4 million in 2004, according to the Journal News.
Thomas was fired from the Knicks on April 18 after presiding over perhaps the most dismal era in the history of the franchise.
Last season, Thomas was found to have sexually harassed a former team employee, feuded with point guard Stephon Marbury and benched center Eddy Curry -- the players Thomas acquired in the two biggest of a number of moves that never panned out.
He was serenaded nightly with Garden chants of "Fire Isiah!" When he was dismissed, his record in New York was 56-108. Overall, he is 187-223 as an NBA coach, leading the Indiana Pacers to the playoffs in three straight years from 2000-03.
Thomas was hired as the Knicks' team president on Dec. 22, 2003. The Knicks made the playoffs that season, getting swept by New Jersey, but haven't gone back despite their high-paid lineup.
Still, Garden chairman James Dolan remained confident in Thomas, making him coach in June 2006 after firing Larry Brown following one season.
As a player, Thomas was one of the NBA's great point guards, winning NBA titles with the Detroit in 1989 and 1990. In college, he led Indiana to a national championship in 1981.
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