The mother of Zeke Upshaw, the G League player who collapsed during a game in March and died two days later, has reportedly filed a lawsuit against the NBA, the Detroit Pistons, the SSJ Group that owns the G League team, and the DeltaPlex Arena.
The lawsuit claims that the team could have saved Zeke's life after he collapsed on the court earlier this year, but no life-saving measures were taken.
"Despite this undeniable dire situation, no life-saving measures were attempted, no CPR was initiated and no defibrillator was used," a statement released Wednesday from representing attorney Ben Crump's office read.
Upshaw, 26, was playing for the Pistons' G League affiliate, the Grand Rapids Drive, when he collapsed on the court in the final minute of their regular season finale. According to reports, the suit alleges that Upshaw laid on the court for nearly four minutes before being moved off with a stretcher, which was "a direct result of the negligence of the Defendants named in this litigation."
Per TMZ Sports:
"Jewel [Zeke's mother] claims when doctors finally tended to Zeke, the treatment was so poor -- she later learned Zeke's body "went without oxygen for another forty minutes ... leaving his brain completely oxygen deprived.""
"At this point, there was no healthy brain left to save."
Jewel Upshaw says she is suing in the hopes of changing NBA policies so no other mother will have to experience what she went through.
