Lamar Odom, a former professional basketball player and reality TV star, was reported to be fighting for his life in a Las Vegas hospital on Wednesday (14 October) after he was found unresponsive at a legal brothel. According to the brothel owner, he had taken several tablets of herbal Viagra.

The 35-year-old former Los Angeles Lakers standout and ex-husband of Khloè Kardashian suffered a medical emergency on Tuesday at the Love Ranch brothel in Crystal, Nevada and was taken to hospital, the Nye County Sheriff's Office said.

"When we immediately called 911, 911 said [to] roll him on his left side, and my management did that and he started throwing up all kinds of stuff and foaming and throwing up all kinds of things," said brothel owner Dennis Hof.

"The girls said that they didn't see anything. The police came out with the ambulance people. They didn't see anything. The only thing we know for sure is that he was taking excessive amounts of herbal Viagra. Now, not to say he wasn't doing any drugs, but nobody saw anything like that and they saw no effects. He was sleeping every night so the assumption is he wasn't doing anything," he added.

Herbal Viagra can dramatically lower blood pressure and interact with other medications. According to the Sherriff's Office, the people at the brothel who reported his collapse said Odom had been using cocaine and that he had taken as many as 10 tabs of a herbal sexual enhancement supplement.

"Well, what I understand is that he got a phone call and he was a little bit sombre Sunday afternoon for a while, then he kind of shook it off and was having a good time. They were cooking for him. They were having a blast with Lamar," said Hof.

Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center, where Odom was taken, declined to comment on his condition, citing patient confidentiality. But celebrity website TMZ.com reported unidentified sources as saying Odom was in a coma and that some of his organs were failing.

Another outlet, E!, also citing anonymous sources, reported that Odom suffered brain damage and at least one stroke, and was on a ventilator after taking multiple drugs.

Odom was ranked NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 2011, but is currently a free agent. During his marriage to Khloé Kardashian, he appeared on the family reality TV show, Keeping Up With The Kardashians. The couple launched a spin-off Khloé And Lamar in 2011, but it was cancelled the following year.

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