Basketball at The 1972 Summer Olympics - Gold Medal Match Controversy

Gold Medal Match Controversy

The 1972 Olympic men's basketball final was one of the most controversial in Olympic history and was the first ever loss for Team USA since the sport began Olympic play in 1936. The United States team won the previous seven gold medals and was favored to win another in Munich at the 1972 Summer Olympics. The team convincingly won its first eight games of the tournament putting its overall Olympic record at 63–0 and setting up a final against the Soviet Union.

With the U.S. team trailing 49–48 in the waning seconds of the contest, American guard Doug Collins stole a Soviet pass at halfcourt and was fouled hard by Zurab Sakandelidze as he drove toward the basket, being knocked down into the basket stanchion. With three seconds remaining on the game clock, Collins was awarded two free throws and sank the first to tie the score at 49. Just as Collins lifted the ball to begin his shooting motion in attempting the second free throw, the horn from the scorer's table sounded, marking the beginning of a chain of events that left the game's final three seconds mired in controversy. Although the unexpected sound of the horn caused lead referee Renato Righetto to turn away from the free throw attempt and look over to the scorer's table, play was not stopped. Collins never broke his shooting motion and continued with his second free throw, making it to put the U.S. up by a score of 50–49.