The Tragic Death Of Basketball Phenomenon Hank Gathers

Basketball player Hank Gathers was a legend in the making. He spent his freshman year at the University of Southern California before deciding to shift to Loyola Marymount University. He ended up becoming very popular for his extraordinary skills on the basketball court. Consider this: he averaged 32.7 points per game with 13.7 rebounds at each game in his junior year. He continued the tradition in his senior year and performed extraordinarily well as a basketball player. He was one of the top scorers in college history and was geared up for a career as an NBA player.

According to a report by UPI, the player had health issues that he dealt with while pursuing his passion for basketball. He fainted at a basketball game and doctors had to test him to figure out what was wrong with him. He found out that his heartbeat was irregular and was asked to take medication to managed his heart rhythms.

He died during a basketball game

Tim Defrisco/Getty Images

Gathers suffered from side-effects after taking medication. He couldn’t help feeling tired and sluggish. Eventually, his dosage was modified to help him cope. The 23-year-old continued to focus on his basketball career while managing his medical condition. However, tragedy struck when he lost consciousness while playing a game in March 1990. He passed away a couple of hours later.

Doctors performed an autopsy on the player and realized that he had died of a ‘diseased, inflamed and scarred heart muscle.’ His death devastated his family and they chose to file a court case against Loyola, believing that the university officials were involved in modifying his medication and that inadvertently led to the tragedy. Gathers’ coach spoke up about the star player’s tragic death and said, “I tried to do my best to do good for [Gathers]. I know in my heart I did, and I’m certain Hank Gathers knows that.”

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He died during a basketball game

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