NBA to require players, many team staffers to wear sensor devices

The players and some members of the teams will be obliged to wear sensor devices during all team-organized activities outside of games starting Jan. 7, according to a league memo obtained by ESPN.

Individuals will be required to wear Kinexon SafeZone contact sensor devices on the team plane, the team bus, during practices and to and from the arena or their home practice facility in connection with team travel, the memo states.

Not wearing the sensors is subject to discipline, but it’s unclear what the discipline might be. Players are not required to wear the sensors during games or at the team hotel when traveling.

The sensors do not record GPS location and will activate when coming within close proximity, which is defined as 6 feet, to another person wearing one — a point that health officials across the NBA emphasized to quell concerns about whether individual movements would be monitored.

The memo states that the sensors will record "the distance and duration of in-person interactions" with others who are wearing a sensor, which the NBA believes will aid in its contact tracing reviews in instances of positive coronavirus cases. Such reviews will also include interviews of players and staff members, as well as potentially examining camera footage at team facilities, to better understand who might have been exposed to an infected individual.