Isiah denies being treated for overdose; police say he's 'lying'
NEW YORK -- Authorities were called to the home of former New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas, where police said a 47-year-old man was taken to the hospital and treated for an accidental overdose of sleeping pills early Friday morning.
Several local media outlets reported police confirmed it was Thomas who was taken to the hospital.
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| The Knicks fired Isiah Thomas as president and head coach on April 18. (Getty Images) |
It "wasn't an overdose," he told the newspaper. "My daughter is very down right now. None of us are OK."
Harrison Police Chief David Hall refuted Thomas' statement about his daughter to the New York Times on Friday night.
"I understand that this person claims it was his daughter; he is lying," Hall told the newspaper. "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."
Hall had earlier said the case was not a suicide attempt.
"We're classifying it as an accidental overdose of prescription sleeping pills," Hall said. "I'm not going to confirm or deny that it was Isiah Thomas. It was an individual at his home."
He told the Daily News that the man took about 10 Lunesta sleeping pills. "He was unconscious, but breathing on his own," Hall told the paper.
Thomas' 20-year-old son Joshua also said it was his sister, not his father, who required treatment.
"He's fine," the Indiana University student told the Daily News. "Reports of sleeping pills are false."
The drama is the latest in what has been a difficult year for Thomas.
He was fired as the Knicks coach on April 18 after a season of dreadful basketball, a tawdry sexual harassment lawsuit and unending chants from fans demanding his dismissal. Still, he was retained by the organization as an adviser and consultant to Donnie Walsh -- who had replaced him as president of basketball operations.
