During a West Coast Conference tournament game on March 4, 1990, prominent senior forward Hank Gathered from Loyola Marymount University dashes down the court, leaps and grabs an alley-oop pass, slams down an incredible dunk, and then, after strolling back to midcourt, collapses to the floor.
Although he briefly regains consciousness, he is nevertheless taken to the hospital, where he passes away. Paul Westhead, the coach at Loyola Marymount, expresses to the media, “This is the most challenging thing I’ve ever encountered.”
Even over 30 years after his passing, the topic continues to be searched on the Internet.
Cause of Passing
He passed away during the game on March 4, 1990, and he was prescribed the beta blocker Inderal due to an irregular heartbeat.
Gathers believed that the medication was affecting his performance, so the dosage was reduced from 80 to 40 mg, and he committed to visit the doctor every week.
Tragically, he didn’t answer the phone and missed his cardiologist’s appointment for a few weeks.
Nevertheless, it was revealed that he was not taking any medication on the days he played when he finally met with his cardiologist for approximately 2 hours.
Gatherers conversed with the doctor on March 2, and on March 4, during the first half of the playoff game against the Portland Pilots, he fainted.
He made an attempt to stand up and informed the sports trainers, “I don’t want to lie down!” But shortly after, he stopped breathing, and rescuers had to take him to a nearby hospital.
The WCC commissioner decided to postpone the game until the following night due to his condition.
Wikipedia states that the hospital later reported the player had died at 6:55 p.m. It was devastating 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 an exceptional young man, both as an athlete and as a person,” Brian Quinn, the athletic director at Loyola Marymount, stated to the Los Angeles Times.
Autopsy Findings
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 settlement, the lawsuit was resolved, but it was challenging for his family to comprehend that his passing was an accident.
Gather’s Life Overview
Gathers played collegiate basketball for the West Coast Conference’s Loyola Marymount Lions.
Under the guidance of head coach George Raveling, he embarked on his college career at USC. Later, he transferred to Loyola Marymount.
Gathers started playing basketball in high school after developing a lifelong interest in the sport. He had no inclination toward any sport other than 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.
