Kyle Kuzma less than convinced about NBA smart rings, calls it a 'tracking device'

July 30 has been earmarked as the date for the NBA restart as players work around the clock to get fit in time. The coronavirus pandemic continues to rage on in the USA in the interim. As of June 19, 223,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and more than 120,000 citizens have succumbed to the deadly and contagious virus. The NBA recently issued a list of rules and regulations that players will be expected to follow when they arrive in Orlando later this month or in July.

One of the rather peculiar additions to the medical advisory list is the NBA smart rings or NBA COVID19 ring which players will be given an option to wear upon the league's resumption. However, NBA fans and players alike remain suspicious of the NBA smart rings (NBA COVID19 rings) as they expressed their concerns over the same on social media. The latest high-profile name to raise doubts over the NBA smart rings is Los Angeles Lakers star, Kyle Kuzma.

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NBA smart rings, NBA COVID19 ring

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Kyle Kuzma takes a stand against NBA smart rings, calls NBA COVID19 ring a 'tracking device'

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Kyle Kuzma appears to be less than convinced that the NBA smart rings will be an accurate move to track players' physiological conditions. The NBA recently issued a robust 113-page guidebook of health and safety protocols which was the first time they mentioned NBA smart rings as a device to track players' symptoms. The NBA regulation read, “Players will be asked to wear an optional ‘proximity alarm’ that would notify the player if he spends more than five seconds within six feet of another person wearing an alarm. The device will only be mandatory for team and league staff members, according to the union memo, which also states that players will be given the option of wearing ‘an Oura smart ring’ that tracks temperature, respiratory and heart rate and other health measures, and may help with coronavirus protection.” Kyle Kuzma remains suspicious of the NBA COVID19 ring concept and also went on to call the newly set up NBA hotline as the 'snitch hotline'.

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NBA restart schedule

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Image Courtesy: Kyle Kuzma Instagram