Young Athletes: Are They Too Driven to Succeed?

Hank Gathers, an American college basketball forward for LMU, died tragically at twenty-three years old.  He was driven from the time he grew up in Philadelphia, played for USC, and transfered to LMU to be the best ballplayer, the fastest runner, the lottery pick for the NBA draft.  It was this single-minded vision that catapulted him into the spotlight as a star player, and it was this same blind drive that caused him to chose performance over health in the long run. 

After being diagnosed with a heart muscle disorder, hypertropic cardiomyopathy, his doctor prescribed Gathers a beta blocker to regulate his heart.  The drug made Gathers sluggish, tired, and moody, but it kept him alive.  After trying to induce his doctors and his coaches to take him off the prescription drugs so that he could continue to perform as he had previously on the court to no avail, Gathers took it upon himself to decrease his dosage, ultimately leading to his collapse on the court and his death.  Sports fans and parents alike remember this March 4, 1990 game, in which a young life was cut short prematurely, but who do they blame?

Gathers' mother seemed to blame LMU and her son's doctors as she hired Bruce Fagel to file lawsuit against them both, seeking millions of dollars for her loss.  But who ultimately is responsible?  Gathers for failing to heed his doctor's advice?  The glitter of a professional career in sports?  In the end, the lesson that must be gleaned rom this tragedy rises and falls on society's need for the best and brightest of stars no matter the cost.