This two-part feature series on bioethics explores the benefits and possible ethical implications of DNA testing and biometric tracking of professional athletes. This article discusses genetic testing, part 2 will look at wearable devices.
In late March, Zeke Upshaw collapsed on court with 40 seconds remaining in the Grand Rapids Drive’s season-finale, playoff-clinching G League basketball game. The 26-year-old player died two days later in a hospital in Grand Rapids, Mich., his grieving mother at his side. An autopsy later identified cardiac arrest as the cause of death, likely triggered by an abnormally large heart.
According to doctors, abnormalities such as these aren’t all that uncommon among elite athletes, and so begs the question: Could knowledge of Upshaw’s condition, derived from sophisticated technologies, have saved his life?