The president of the NFL Players Association said on a panel held at the annual Consumer Electronics Show that data collected from wearables technology belongs to the athlete.
Eric Winston, a 12-year offensive lineman most recently with the Cincinnati Bengals, gave the example of a running back’s 80-yard run. While the performance (i.e. the rushing yards he gained) might be a statistic that does not belong to the athlete, the granular information comprised therein — such as his heart rate while running — should be classified separately.
“There is a line there somewhere, and I would say that, when you start talking about health and safety, when you start talking about personal data — whether you’re talking about heart rate, whether you’re talking about sleep or all these other data metrics — and then that, to me, becomes intensely personal,” Winston said.