Isiah Thomas Overdoses on Sleeping Pills – Conflicting Reports of Hospital Trip
The world of sports-related news can be such a weird and confusing place sometimes. In reality, I guess that just means that the sports world is exactly like the real world.
This was my first thought after reading ESPN.com’s account of Isiah Thomas’ rushed trip to the hospital yesterday. But was it really Isiah?
Here are the basics: Police say that a 47-year old man was rushed to the hospital on Friday morning after an overdose of sleeping pills. The New York Times and New York Post both reported that the 47-year old man in questions was Isiah Thomas, though they did not cite sources. Isiah Thomas, as reported by the New York Post, said that is was not him that was rushed to the hospital — it was his daughter; and the reason was not an overdose.
Huh?
The best quote in the whole story comes from Harrison Police Chief David Hall:
“I understand that this person claims it was his daughter; he is lying,” Hall told The Times. “It was definitely not his daughter, it was a male. We know the difference between a 47-year-old black male and a young black female.”
(Sunday morning update: The police have now more strongly rebuked Isiah Thomas for his “cover-up” attempt, saying it was his daughter and not him who had been rushed to the hospital.)
Well I would hope so. Hall also said the case was not a suicide attempt.
The best perspective that I have read so far on this story comes from Henry Abbott, who runs the True Hoop blog at ESPN. In his article, Abbot recounts the various reports of the story. Additionally, he provides information regarding the sleeping pills in question:
Now, what is Lunesta? It’s a brand name for eszopiclone. According to several medical websites, eszopiclone is a sedative hypnotic (and one of the drugs that was found in Heath Ledger’s apartment at the time of his death).
Writing for WebMD in January, Michael Breus PhD, ABSM expressed skepticism that a drug like Lunesta alone could be dangerous enough to be fatal:
“With today’s new class of sleeping pills it’s highly unlikely that you can overdose to the point that you kill yourself (there is one paper showing someone took 180 10mg tabs of Ambien and woke up 4 days later, no problems).”
Like alcohol, Lunesta works by causing depression of the central nervous system.
Almost everywhere on the internet with any description of Lunesta warns of taking too much, or combining Lunesta with alcohol or other medications. But only a handful discuss the possibility that Lunesta alone could be fatal.
WebMD’s Lunesta drug reference says “Symptoms of overdose may include: confusion, fainting, or a deep sleep from which you cannot be awakened.”
And it is that last part that reasonably provides some circumstantial clarity (how’s that for non-committal?) in this confusing case. Someone is definitely suffering from confusion, and I think I’m leaning towards the guy who purportedly took the sleeping pills, not the cops. Isiah Thomas also had a little bit of the fainting symptom as well. According to the son of Isiah Thomas, Joshua Thomas, his dad and sister were resting at a hospital. “He looked faint from stressing over her,” Joshua said, “They sat him down, let him drink some water. He’s fine.”
Let me try to wrap my mind around this one more time (bear with me): police say a 47-year old man was rushed to a hospital — and they are adamant about it. Isiah Thomas, who was recently found guilty of sexual harrasment and has developed a pretty significant credibility problem over the years, says that it was actually his daughter. Hmm…sounds like confusion to me, and confusion that clearly is benef
icial to Isiah Thomas. Naturally, he would not want the bad press of a sleeping pill overdose attached to his name. We all know he’s had enough bad press. Of course, I’m pretty sure it does not warrant throwing your daughter under the bus, if in fact it was not her. However, what purpose would the police have for making such a story up? None. And would they really get such a major detail wrong? Well, perhaps. But I’d say unlikely.
For the most part, I’ve always been a fan of Isiah Thomas. We both went to Indiana University, Isiah led the Hoosiers to their 1981 National Championship, he is one of the greatest guards to ever play basketball, and he has always supported Bob Knight. The further he has gotten away from IU though, the harder and harder it becomes to support Isiah. His coaching career in the NBA, his ownership run in the CBA, and his time with the New York Knicks have all marred his legacy to the point where his basketball exploits are now more of a distant memory than a defining impression. Maybe this is not the case for the generation before me; but I’m 27. I was very young when Isiah was playing, though I still remember him as Piston, and not yet even born when he carried my Hoosiers to the 1981 title. The majority of my life as a sports fan has been during Isiah Thomas’ precipitous reputation erosion; I missed out on watching his climb from a poor part of Chicago to the top of the NBA world.
The Hoosier in me still likes to see Isiah Thomas succeed — I’ve just kind of given up hope that it is possible for him to do so off the court. I would like to say I believe his account of this story, but clearly I do not; and I think it would be pretty unreasonable to do so. I hope that whatever the problem is, whether it is Isiah Thomas or his daughter, that it is resolved soon. Luckily this seems to be only a scare and a “harmless” overdose, and did not turn into anything tragic.
The only tragic aspect of this story is that, for consistent supporters of Isiah Thomas like myself, I was not even the least bit shocked when I heard about it.
Good luck Isiah. I hope that you are either vindicated, get whatever you help you or your daughter needs, or that you can move on quickly if this story was blown out of proportion by the press.
[tags]isiah thomas, nba, overdose, sleeping pills[/tags]
Tags: isiah thomas, NBA, overdose
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We may or may not know all the details of who actually took the drugs, but here is what we know about Lunesta. It is called a non-benzodiazepine hypnotic. Which means that it is in a drug class, which is technically safer than benzodiazepines. ( Restoril, Dalmane, Halcion, etc.) Why? For one thing, Lunesta is one of only a few select medications that does not interact with any other medications, however it will interact with alcohol ( all medications do!). While there is a pretty scary report on Ambien (180 pills) there is no such report on Lunesta, but I would suspect the same results, the molecules are quite similar. Recent reports on drugs in this class have caused the FDA to require more warning labels on these meds since there have been some reported cases of sleep walking, driving and eating, so doctors are aware and should be instructing their patients on exactly how to safely use these medications. These meds are safe when used under a physician’s care.
I too am an Isiah Thomas fan, and hope that his troubles decrease. But it would not be surprising to learn of stress-induced decision making in his case, based on the recent reported events in his life. Of course I am not his psychologist and I have no idea what may be going on behind the scenes, but I would be happy to help in anyway I could. Let’s all hope that everyone in his family is safe.
Michael Breus, PhD-The Sleep Doctor
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Michael, thanks a lot for the information. What a bizarre story.
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