While the National Basketball Association and its fans are caught up in round four of a Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors NBA Finals, the NBA is dealing with a separate dispute behind the scenes. A lawsuit was filed last Wednesday by Jewel Upshaw, the mother of the late Zeke Upshaw, who collapsed and died at the end of a G-League game earlier this season. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

What the lawsuit entails

On the night of his death, Upshaw was playing for the Grand Rapids Drive, a minor league team of the Detroit Pistons.

He collapsed in the final minutes of a game that was held earlier this year in March. The guard out of Hofstra University, 26, never regained consciousness and died two days later.

According to ESPN, the lawsuit, which names the NBA, Detroit Pistons, SSJ Group and The DeltaPlex Arena as defendants, claims that "medical personnel at the game failed to attempt life-saving measures in a timely fashion."

Upshaw says that the league could have saved her son's life and that Zeke's death was "wholly preventable." Upshaw also alleges that the Grand Rapids medical team stepped out of the arena before the game had come to a conclusion. Zeke then went unattended by medical personnel for nearly five minutes.

Attorney Benjamin Crump, the attorney representing the Upshaw family in the case, said on Wednesday, "Despite this undeniable dire situation, no life-saving measures were attempted, no CPR was initiated and no defibrillator was used."

What does Upshaw want from the lawsuit?

As the case for this lawsuit is unfolding, the mother of the late Pistons prospect is giving a call to action after going through a painful situation.

"As heartbroken as I am, I just want for the next occurrence that may happen to some other kid on the court, for the response to be immediate," she said at a news conference.

She also added that she does not want pity, but for others to join her in her fight for a better response for the players when they are in need of medical attention.

An NBA spokesperson said in a statement last Wednesday that, "The NBA family continues to mourn the tragic passing of Zeke Upshaw. We received a copy of the complaint and are reviewing it."

The Detroit Free Press reports that Zeke Upshaw was diagnosed with heart disease one year prior to his sudden cardiac-related death after fainting while playing basketball.
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