DETROIT -- Jewel Upshaw, the mother of a G League basketball player who died in March after collapsing on the court during a game, has filed a lawsuit accusing the NBA and the Detroit Pistons of negligence.
Zeke Upshaw, 26, played for the Grand Rapids Drive, a G League affiliate of the Pistons. He collapsed during a game at Grand Rapids on March 24 and died two days later.
The lawsuit, which seeks a jury trial, was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The NBA and Pistons are named as defendants, along with SSJ Group and The DeltaPlex Arena.
The lawsuit alleges that medical personnel at the game failed to attempt lifesaving measures in a timely fashion, and that Upshaw's death was "wholly preventable."
The suit says that the Drive's team doctor conveyed to Upshaw's mother that he "had stepped out before the end of the basketball game and was not present nor available when Zeke collapsed."
"As heartbroken as I am, I just want for the next occurrence that may happen to some other kid on the court, for the response to be immediate," Jewel Upshaw said in a news conference in New York.
"Please don't pity me or anything like that," she added. "Just join me as I fight for my child. He deserved an immediate response when he collapsed."
The suit alleges that the NBA fails to adequately prepare for and protect its league players from sudden cardiac death.
"The NBA family continues to mourn the tragic passing of Zeke Upshaw," an NBA spokesman said in a statement released Wednesday afternoon. "We received a copy of the complaint and are reviewing it."
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
