Analytics and wearable technology may be all the rage across the sports industry, but execs speaking at the ’16 CAA World Congress of Sports said there remain many unanswered questions regarding the ownership and control of biometric information. The issue is likely to be a subject of discussion during the next NBA labor talks. “Wearables are an issue that has my attention, and the union’s attention,” said NBPA Exec Dir Michele Roberts. “Anything that can help a player enhance their performance, and isn’t a drug, is great. But who owns that information? Can a player refuse to engage? This can be a really good thing, but there are some information protection issues that need to be addressed.” Dodgers President & CEO Stan Kasten said the privacy concerns “are very fair,” but that he is eagerly looking to analytics to help answer questions such as why more players are landing on disabled lists despite the advent of analytics and improved player health care and training. “We’re at a crisis when 50% of pitchers are on the disabled list every year,” he said. “And we don’t know why that is, so we’re trying to figure it out.”
