Former NBA star Lamar Odom admits to using prosthetic penis 'filled with trainer's urine' to pass Olympics drug test in 2004
In 2004, one of Lamar Odom‘s biggest dreams came true. The NBA champion was offered a spot on the U.S. Men’s Olympic basketball team, which was "one of the biggest honors in my career," the 39-year-old Odom writes in his new memoir, 'Darkness to Light', exclusively extracted by PEOPLE.
In an excerpt from his upcoming autobiography, the LA Lakers star reveals he became anxious after qualifying for the team when he was told he would have to pass an obligatory drugs test to actually play in Greece. But, as Odom writes, "the joy of being named to the 12-man roster quickly turned to anxiety when Olympic officials informed me that I would have to pass a drug test before officially joining the team."
At the time, Odom was using drugs and knew that he wouldn't pass an official test, which would disqualify him from competing at the Olympics in Athens, Greece. After some intense "googling" Odom discovered the wonder of fake "penises". "After studying different ways to beat a drug test,” he writes, "and an exhaustive search, we ordered a giant, rubber, black c— to arrive the next day."
And when the official tester arrived at Odom’s home to administer the test, the NBA champion was prepared, recruiting his drug-free trainer "to urinate into the reservoir of the phallus, which was hidden in the b*lls," he writes. The NBA security official then entered the bathroom and watched from two feet away as Odom squeezed out his trainer's pee from the prosthetic. "I unzipped my pants and carefully slid the fake penis through the zipper hole. To get the pee to come out of the tip, I had to squeeze the shaft repeatedly," Odom writes. Although Odom admits in his book that he "was paranoid it wouldn't work," he passed the test after he handed the official the warm cup of his trainer's urine.
"He stuck a thermometer in the cup to gauge the temperature… satisfied that the pee was mine, he said 'Welcome to Team USA'," Odom writes. Odom's memoir also explores his drug addiction — which resulted in a near-fatal overdose in 2015. Odom was hospitalized after a drug overdose and suffered 12 strokes and six heart attacks while in a coma for three days, leaving doctors "amazed" at how he was still alive. It took a negative toll on his relationships though, including his marriage with ex Khloé Kardashian.
Thankfully, Odom is now drug-free but admits that he's still working through his demons. "I'm still an addict," he writes in his book. "I still struggle … [But] I will not go into the darkness. Ever again."