LSU coach punched in pacemaker after wild loss

(Photo Credit: Twitter/@ZachTaylorSport)

This one’s a real heartbreaker.

An offensive analyst for LSU is on the mend after being punched in his pacemaker following the No. 7 Tigers’ agonizing 74-72 loss to No. 22 Texas A&M after seven grueling overtime periods on Saturday. Steve Kragthorpe, 53, said he was struck in the chest by a man with credentials from the Aggies sideline after the NCAA record-tying seven-overtime marathon.

“Out of nowhere, I got nailed,” Kragthorpe told the Lafayette Daily Advertiser. “I didn’t go down, but I clutched over. I was like, ‘Damn, he got me right in my pacemaker.’ Then it started fluttering like he jostled it.”

Footage of the melee posted on social media showed a wild scene after the game. Members of both teams are seen pushing and shoving each other frantically as one photographer tries to capture the scrum, which quickly dissipated — but not before Kragthorpe caught a punch to the chest, he said.

That prompted LSU director of player development Kevin Faulk to go after the man who struck Kragthorpe, whose identity has not been confirmed by Texas A&M officials, according to the newspaper.

“I feel OK, but not as good as I was,” Kragthorpe said. “I felt like he tore something in there. I will be seeing my neurologist in Baton Rouge on Monday.”

(Photo: LSU)

Kragthorpe, who was evaluated by Texas A&M’s team doctor as well as emergency responders at the game, said he doesn’t want to press charges against the man who assaulted him.

“I don’t want to pursue it,” he told the newspaper. “It’s one of those things that happens in the heat of the moment.”

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