Oura rings could help identify presymptomatic players
Michele Roberts, the head of the National Basketball Players’ Association, drew a bold and unapologetic line more than a month ago when discussing the agreements players might submit to when returning to play in a “bubble” situation.
Roberts, in an interview with ESPN, used the word “incarceration” to convey the unease players might feel about any sort of containment or surveillance the NBA might’ve been considering. Exaggeration may have been the point.
Weeks later, via multiple memos sent by the NBA to its teams and obtained by The Denver Post, there’s a new concern that players may have to negotiate when in Orlando. The league has partnered with Oura Health to provide every interested player and staff member a ring that could help identify “presymptomatic illnesses” related to COVID-19.
According to a memo sent to teams on Sunday evening, the ring measures four biosignals — heart rate, heart rate variability, respiratory rate and body temperature variation. The ring is designed to generate an “illness probability score” to help identify more susceptible or potentially presymptomatic people. If the score indicates a higher risk, the NBA and/ or NBPA may notify a physician. Sunday’s memo to teams reinforced that wearing the ring is optional and emphasized any infor
mation would be kept between the individual, the NBA and the NBPA.
“Teams will not have access to this data; however, teams will be notified in the event that an individual’s illness probability score indicates that such person may be at higher risk for, or is showing signs of, a possible coronavirus infection,” the memo read. “Notified teams will receive the underlying illness score but will not receive the underlying data without written permission from the player or staff member who tested positive.”
The memo also stated that the rings would be “permanently deidentified and not accessible on an individual basis by the NBA and NBPA within four weeks” of the season ending.
The rings are separate from MagicBands, which all residents of the Orlando “bubble” will be required to wear. The bands will serve as a hotel key, will allow access through security checkpoints and will facilitate checkins for coronavirus testing.
The question players and staffers have to ask themselves is how comfortable they feel offering up their personal medical histories to, ostensibly, be safer in the bubble. The league has also said that no information obtained by the ring could be referenced during any future contract negotiations.””
In other words, how comfortable are players with a Big Brother? Is the potential for that information to be used against them worth the oversight and possible health benefits?
Lakers forward Kyle Kuzma sounds suspect. He tweeted: “Looks like a tracking device” with the monocle emoji.
Oura has teamed with University of California San Francisco researchers to study the data, in relation to COVID-19, collected by more than 40,000 ring users. Sunday’s memo also said players may volunteer to be part of the study.
Over the next week, Oura will ship 37 ring sizing kits to each team’s facilities where interested players and essential staff can be properly sized. Teams can collect their fitted rings upon arrival in Orlando in early July.