Attorney Pins Death of Gathers on Coach : Loyola: Fagel claims player would be alive if Westhead had not asked for medication reduction.

Bruce Fagel, the attorney for the family of Hank Gathers, charged Tuesday that if it were not for former Loyola Marymount basketball Coach Paul Westhead, “Hank Gathers would be alive today.”

Fagel said during a news conference at his Beverly Hills office that Westhead asked Gathers’ cardiologist to reduce his level of medication, which, Fagel contends, led to Gathers’ death.

“Paul Westhead’s actions are documented in his deposition testimony,” Fagel said.

“Lucille Gathers acknowledged in her deposition that Westhead asked for Hank’s medication to be reduced. Paul Westhead acknowledges it in his testimony and Dr. (Vernon) Hattori (the cardiologist who treated Gathers) acknowledged it in his testimony. The impetus for all of the reductions for Hank’s medication--except for the first one--were instigated by Westhead.”

The medication, Inderal, was prescribed for Gathers to help control a cardiac arrhythmia. The drug helps slow the heart beat.

Westhead, now coach of the Denver Nuggets, said he was not interested in Fagel’s allegations.

“I really don’t have any comment about that,” said Westhead from Oakland before the Nuggets played the Golden State Warriors Tuesday night. “I thought that (the lawsuit) was going to be handled in a judicial manner.”

Gathers, a Loyola Marymount basketball player, collapsed March 4 at Gersten Pavilion while playing in a West Coast Conference tournament game, and was pronounced dead 1 hour 40 minutes later at Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital. The cause of death was cardiomyopathy, a heart disorder.

Subsequently, Gathers’ mother, Lucille, his brothers, Derrick and Charles and an aunt, Carole Livingston, filed a $32.5-million wrongful death suit against Loyola, Westhead, Hattori and 11 other defendants.

The depositions of Lucille and Derrick Gathers have been filed in L.A. County Superior Court by attorneys for the defendants as documentation for a motion that will be heard Jan. 17. The motion seeks to deny Lucille Gathers the right to sue for wrongful death charging she was not being supported by her son at the time of his death--a requirement in such cases. This is the strongest cause in the suit.

Not all depositions taken in connection with the suit have been filed, including those of Hattori and Westhead.

Fagel contends from Westhead’s and Hattori’s depositions that a week before Gathers died, Westhead asked Hattori to reduce Gathers medication because he wasn’t performing well enough for NBA scouts.

Lucille Gathers, in her deposition, concurred. She said that in a meeting called by Westhead eight days before Gathers died, Westhead told her that Gathers was not rebounding well enough, and he was going to ask Hattori to reduce the medication. She said Westhead told her he did not want Gathers to score points and that Terrell Lowery, a Loyola player, told her Westhead instructed him not to pass the ball to Gathers as he did in the past. In Derrick Gathers’ testimony, he said Westhead’s plan was to allow Bo Kimble to shoot more.

Gathers led the nation in scoring and rebounding his junior season, averaging 32.7 points and 13.7 rebounds per game. Last season, he averaged 29 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. In the nine games Gathers played in February, the final month of the season, he averaged 33.8 points and 10.3 rebounds.

“(Westhead said he was going to) call Dr. Hattori to ask him to reduce Hank’s medication because he thought the medication was stopping Hank from performing the way he used to,” Lucille Gathers said.

” . . . I asked him (Westhead), who is he to play God with my child’s life to call up his doctor to have his medication reduced?”

Lucille Gathers said when she returned to Gathers’ apartment after the meeting with Westhead she called Hattori to ask him not to follow Westhead’s advice. But, she said that Hattori did not return her call until the next Wednesday, after he had already reduced Gathers’ medication.

Derrick Gathers said in his deposition that he did not know whose idea it was to reduce the medication.

Fagel said that Hattori called Gathers on Monday and reduced his medication. He said Hattori scheduled tests on Wednesday to ensure the reduced level of Inderal would be effective while he played.

But Gathers did not show for the tests. Hattori tried to call Gathers, and also called Westhead, asking the coach to reach Gathers for him.

Friday, two days before Gathers died, Gathers called Hattori and offered to meet the cardiologist either that night or the next day (Saturday) to take the tests. But Hattori was leaving town for his bachelor party, and declined the offer.

“Hattori told Hank that if he felt bad, he should take himself out of the game,” Fagel said.

Fagel also implied Tuesday that Loyola might have broken NCAA rules to keep Gathers academically eligible for his senior season. Fagel said Gathers reported having academic difficulties during his junior year, but when returning for his senior year he no longer had grade problems.

“Hank’s academic difficulties were serious enough that he considered dropping out of school after his junior year and turning pro,” Fagel said. “In the fall, he came back to Loyola and said he no longer had academic difficulties.”

Approached at the NCAA convention in Nashville, Tenn., Loyola’s athletic director, Brian Quinn, did not comment on any of the allegations.

However, in response to a story in Tuesday’s Times that Gathers had received almost $50,000 from a Loyola booster while on scholarship to that school he said: “The allegations are overwhelming. I haven’t had time to ponder them.”