Penders Collapses During Cougars’ Game: Houston coach Tom Penders, usually energetic and lively, had a frightening incident during yesterday’s loss at Alabama-Birmingham. Penders collapsed to the floor near the end of the first half after the Blazers scored on a layup and the officials called a foul. Penders jumped out of his chair and then fainted. He has a medical condition called cardiomyopathy that causes a heart inflammation, which is the likely cause of the fainting spell. After receiving oxygen in the locker room, Penders came around and returned to the bench in the second half to coach.
The well-deserved concern for Penders’ life leaves a sticky matter unresolved, however. When Penders fell to his knees while passing out, the officials thought he was sarcastically reacting to their call on the Blazers’ basket. They assessed Penders with a technical foul and did not rescind it even after Penders was carried off the court on a stretcher. Usually, officials are reluctant to renege a call, but in this case, that would have been the only fair call. UAB hit both technical foul free throws. Houston lost 82-79, but who knows how those two points would have changed the Cougars’ strategy down the stretch. Someone needs to tell the officials that it’s OK to admit a mistake during the game in a handful of special circumstances. This was one of them, and they blew it.
Update: Conference USA officials said yesterday that the game officials erred by upholding the technical foul called against Penders. They did not specify sanctions against the officials. The statement is a good step toward building a culture in which officials can revise their calls in such rare situations. But that probably doesn’t make Penders feel much better about losing by three points.
[1/24/06]
