Report: Ex-Knicks' coach Thomas may have overdosed

NEW YORK -- A 47-year-old man was taken to the hospital and treated for an accidental overdose of sleeping pills early Friday at the suburban home of former New York Knicks coach Isiah Thomas, police said.

Police would not identify the man, except to give his age. Thomas is 47.

According to The New York Post, Thomas was taken to the White Plains Hospital Center after overdosing on sleeping pills at his Westchester home.

Harrison Police Chief David Hall said the case was not a suicide attempt.

"We're classifying it as an accidental overdose, but you can't get into someone's head," Hall told NBA.com. "But there were no [suicide] notes."

Hall told NBA.com a 47-year-old man was taken to White Plains Hospital Center for an overdose on prescription sleeping pills.

"I'm not going to confirm or deny that it was Isiah Thomas. It was an individual at his home," Hall told The Associated Press.

Harris Emergency Medical Service declined to confirm what happened, citing medical privacy laws.

Thomas was reached at his home by The Post and he told the newspaper it was his daughter, not him, who was taken to the hospital.

"None of us are OK. My daughter is very down right now," he told The Post, adding that the incident "wasn't an overdose" and had occurred at school.

Madison Square Garden spokesman Barry Watkins told The Journal News newspaper, "Isiah is fine." WCBS Radio reported that the call involved an "issue with sleeping pills."

The Knicks had no comment. A message left with Thomas' public relations agency wasn't immediately returned.

Hall said an ambulance and two police officers responded to a 911 call that came in from the Thomas home a couple minutes after midnight. The victim was taken to White Plains Hospital Center, about 5 miles from the home, but Hall didn't know if he was admitted or released.

"My family and I are praying for his family," Knicks point guard Stephon Marbury told NBA.com.

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. The Knicks relieved Thomas of his coaching duties on April 18, but remains a team consultant and scout.

In the past season alone, Thomas was found to have sexually harassed a former team employee, feuded with 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.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.