NBA hopeful’s family sues league in wrongful death lawsuit
Zeke Upshaw’s mother is suing the NBA and the Detroit Pistons over her son’s death, claiming the league and team should have been able to save the 26-year-old’s life when he suddenly collapsed on court in March and later died from related health complications.
“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,” mom Jewel Upshaw says in court papers filed Wednesday in Manhattan federal court.
“Had properly trained medical professionals administered expeditious and proper treatment, Zeke would still be alive​,​”​ the filing says.​
Upshaw, a former Hofstra University star, was playing for the Pistons’ G League team, the Grand Rapids Drive, when he collapsed on court March 24.
He never woke up, instead dying in the hospital two days later from sudden heart failure.
Jewel claims the team doctor had already left the game, and that her son received no medical attention for at least 4 minutes. His brain went without oxygen for a full 44 minutes, according to her suit.
“At this point, there was no healthy brain left to save,” the court papers say.
The NBA has known on-court sudden cardiac arrest is a clear danger since at least 1993, when Boston Celtics star Reggie Lewis died during an offseason practice session, the suit argues.
Jewel is suing for gross negligence and wrongful death, and seeking unspecified damages, according to the papers.