NBA players have many "futuristic measures" awaiting them in their Orlando bubble, but maybe the "most ambitious is a wearable device called the Oura ring," according to Ben Cohen of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. It is a smart ring, equipped with a temperature sensor, that "each player will have the option of wearing" during the league's restart. Researchers said that they "hope this ring that calculates someone’s 'illness probability score' will be a valuable warning system that reveals infections before people realize they're sick." The ring can "perceive slight deviations in temperature, heart rate and respiratory rate that signal an immune response," which "could help save the NBA season." It "doesn't take much imagination to see how this would be useful to the NBA -- or why NBA players might have second thoughts about wearing it." But the rings are "optional for NBA players in Disney" and it is "not clear how many plan to wear them." NBA officials said that there are "strict regulations in place to protect [players'] privacy." Players are "likely to be skeptical despite the league's assurances." The NBA is "likely to get more participation from team staffers and league employees than players" as there are some who "already wear the rings for sleep tracking" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 6/22).
Silver expressed confidence in the NBA's bubble while recognizing the severity of increased casesNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
GROWING CONCERN: ESPN.com's Holmes & Lowe cited sources as saying that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in at least one recent call with high-level team execs acknowledged the spiking number of COVID-19 cases in Florida, and the "general tone of that call including the questions asked of Silver on it, [was described] as tense." The increasing number of cases in Florida, which posted a record high last Saturday for the third consecutive day, has "raised concerns in many corners of the NBA, from players to team executives to the league itself, as it prepares to resume play in Orlando next month." One source called Silver's tone "resolute but somber." Sources said that Silver "expressed a resolve to go on -- a confidence in the NBA's bubble concept -- while recognizing the seriousness of the coronavirus spike." Most teams are not slated to arrive in Orlando until July 7-9, so several team execs and team officials said that they are "hopeful the number of coronavirus cases will start to decline" (ESPN.com, 6/20). USA TODAY's Jeff Zillgitt wrote Silver is the one "tasked with making the right decisions for the league," and Florida's COVID-19 situation is "making his job more difficult by the day" (USA TODAY, 6/20).
MULTITASKING: In DC, Jerry Brewer wrote for NBAers concerned about the restart distracting the U.S. from the social justice movement, there are "more options than play and distract, or don't play and help" because players "can do both, and so much more." With Silver as a "proven ally and the league desperate to salvage revenue, the players possess a level of control that past athlete activists couldn't dare to imagine." Sports "do not just distract," they have the "ability to captivate, to hold attention." If the NBA "doesn't return because it wants to avoid being a distraction, then another distraction will fill the void, one that might not care as much about social justice" (WASHINGTON POST, 6/21).
