On March 4, 1990, star senior forward Hank Gathered from Loyola Marymount University sprints down the court during a West Coast Conference tournament game, leaps and collects an alley-oop pass, slams down an incredible dunk, then, after walking back to midcourt, collapses to the floor.
He temporarily regains consciousness but is nonetheless taken to the hospital, where he passes away. Paul Westhead, the coach at Loyola Marymount, tells the media, “This is the hardest thing I’ve ever faced.”
Even though he passed away more than 30 years ago, the subject continues to be looked up on the Internet.
The cause of death
He passed away during the game on March 4, 1990, and he was advised to take the beta blocker Inderal since he had an irregular heartbeat.
Gathers thought that the medicine was causing his game to play. Therefore the dosage was decreased from 80 to 40 mg, and the pledge was to return every week to see the doctor.
But sadly, he didn’t pick up the phone and skipped his cardiologist’s appointment for a few weeks.
Even so, it was discovered that he wasn’t taking any medication on the days he played when he finally met with his cardiologist for about 2 hours.
Gatherers spoke with the doctor on March 2, and on March 4, during the first half of the playoff game against the Portland Pilots, he passed out.
He made an effort to stand up and informed the sports trainers, “I don’t want to lie down!” But soon after, he stopped breathing, rescuers had to take him to a neighboring hospital.
The WCC commissioner decided to postpone the game till the following night because of his condition.
Wikipedia states that the hospital afterward reported the player had died at 6:55 p.m. It was terrible to learn that he had passed away unexpectedly at the age of 23.
Gathers’ name is frequently mentioned as a sobering example for any athlete with a heart issue. “[Gathers] was a remarkable young guy, both as an athlete and as a person,” Brian Quinn, the athletic director at Loyola Marymount, stated to the Los Angeles Times.
Autopsy report
Hank Gathers’ autopsy revealed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition in which the heart muscle is damaged and scarred.
His family filed a $32.5 million lawsuit alleging negligence after the autopsy results. In contrast to the cardiologist treating Gathers, Loyola Marymount settled for $1.4 million.
After the compensation, the lawsuit was resolved, but it was difficult for his family to understand that his demise was an accident.
Life overview of Gather
Gathers played collegiate basketball for the West Coast Conference’s Loyola Marymount Lions.
Under the direction of head coach George Raveling, he began his college career at USC. After that, he was moved to Loyola Marymount.
Gathers began playing basketball in high school after developing a lifelong interest in the sport. He had no interest in any sport but basketball.
As a junior, the athlete became only the second in NCAA Division history to lead the country in both scoring and rebounds in the same season.
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