Olson's support staff failed him
Posted: Tuesday, October 28, 2008 3:52 PM
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Lute Olson
The reason behind Lute Olson’s sudden retirement became clear on Tuesday when Olson’s doctor revealed the coach suffered a stroke during 2008. As a result, Olson was advised to retire.
So there’s the reason. And it’s a mighty good one. Olson, who recently announced his engagement, just turned 74. He’d like to spend more time with his grandkids, kids and fiancée.
Still, the timing remains curious. Where was Olson’s support staff?
On Nov. 3, 2007, Olson told Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood that he would need a leave of absence. On Dec. 6, Olson said he would miss the entire season. The same day, Olson filed for divorce from his wife, Christine.
Conventional thinking? Divorce isn’t easy, so Olson would need time to recover. But health questions lingered.
In January, the Tucson Citizen revealed Olson would have to be using sick leave by the end of January, and that “sick leave can only be used by someone who is ill or caring for an immediate family member who is ill.” The school doesn’t comment.
After that, there wasn’t much mention about Olson’s health because neither Olson nor the school was talking about it. When he returned in March, he tried to re-establish himself, but he wasn’t the same coach Arizona was used to seeing.
Now the doctor says Olson’s "severe depression" and "changes in judgment” were the result of a stroke and no doubt contributed to his tumultuous summer. Hey, no argument there.
The thing is, what took so long to make this decision? Olson’s stroke happened months ago. (It was confirmed by an MRI on Monday, but why did it take so long to perform the MRI? This never occured to anyone during the summer?)
It’s not an easy thing to convince a coach like Olson to retire. That’s a given. But this wasn’t a case of him being unable to produce a winning team anymore. This was about his health. His doctors should’ve been more forceful. School officials should’ve taken a stand. His fiancée and his kids could’ve convinced him.
The whole episode just makes Olson’s departure even more sad. The coach deserved better.
UPDATE: From Olson's doctor, Steven Knope:
"Unlike a typical stroke that you may imagine where someone is unable to walk or talk or move a limb, this stroke occurred in a part of the brain where much of his intellectual function and his motor function was perfectly normal," Knope said. "So it wasn’t quite apparent. The tipoff and the clue came in the last several weeks, when we began to treat what appeared to be a bout of depression that simply didn’t respond."
There's my answer. I'd like to think this was the first time Olson showed any symptoms of a stroke, but his summer says otherwise to me. I wish more could've been done for him before now.
