COULD HAVE SAVED HOOPSTER:
Hoopster could have been saved: lawsuit
AN NBA development player who died after collapsing during a game lay on the court for more than four minutes as staffers failed to provide basic lifesaving treatment, a new lawsuit says.
The blistering federal court suit takes the NBA to task for what it claims was a shockingly poor response to Zeke Upshaw’s medical emergency during a Saturday night game in Michigan.
Upshaw, 26, was playing for the Detroit Pistons’ G League team.
“There appeared to be uncertainty, indecisiveness, and a complete and utter lack of appreciation of the severity of the moment as the basketball player’s life silently slipped away on the hardwood floor in front of them,” says the suit filed Wednesday in Manhattan Federal Court on behalf of Upshaw’s mother.
“Remarkably, for much longer than four full minutes, no (CPR) was initiated, no chest compressions were started, no oxygen mask was placed on his nose and mouth, no airway was cleared and secured, and no defibrillator sensors and electric delivery patches were attached and secured to Zeke’s chest.”
Upshaw was rushed to the hospital where doctors determined him to be “brain dead,” the suit says. He was pronounced dead two days later.
Upshaw suffered a sudden cardiac event, according to the suit.
“I raised Zeke to be amazing. He was an amazing kid and young adult,” his mother Jewel Upshaw said at a Wednesday press conference.
“I also told Zeke to do his best in everything he did. Unfortunately, the same wasn’t afforded to Zeke.”
The family’s lawyer, Benjamin Crump, said the NBA should put in place the same protocols for its G League players that exist for its top professionals.
“Can you imagine if LeBron (James) or Steph (Curry) went down tonight? How immediate the response would be for them?” Crump said.
“Well, don’t all the NBA players count? … We’re going up against a giant, but it’s the right thing to do.”
The legal action targets the NBA and the Detroit Pistons organization.
The suit says Upshaw suffered a “wholly preventable death” due to the league’s failure to staff the game with trained medical personnel.
The team doctor had stepped out before the waning moments of the game when Upshaw collapsed, adds the suit.
The league released a brief statement after the suit was filed.
“The NBA family continues to mourn the tragic passing of Zeke Upshaw,” said spokesman Mike Bass.
“We received a copy of the complaint and are reviewing it.”
Upshaw wasn’t the first professional basketball player to suffer a fatal heart malfunction on the court.
Reggie Lewis, a 27-year-old Boston Celtics star, went into cardiac arrest and died during an offseason practice in 1993.
“Yet, the NBA still fails to adequately prepare for and protect its league players from sudden cardiac death,” the suit says.
“There is simply no good reason for the defendants to have been unprepared for sudden cardiac death events such as Zeke’s, and for their failure to react quickly to save a life. Had properly trained medical professionals administered expeditious and proper treatment, Zeke would still be alive.”