As being reported on WSCR, during the Bulls press conference today announcing the signing of it's free agents (I think Songaila, Allen, and Chandler), GM John Paxson said that Eddy Curry will have a week to sign the qualifying offer.
More importantly, Pax said any chance of him playing for the Bulls this season is conditional on Curry taking the DNA test requested by heart specialists to check for possible genetic predispotion to a Reggie Lewis-like heart defect. (I forgot the technical term).
more as it develops...
(who am I, Matt Drudge?)
Update(4:16) From the AP:
The standard player contract included in the NBA?s new collective bargaining agreement contains a paragraph regarding physical examinations.
The clause reads in part: ?The player must report for such physical examination at the time designated by the Team and must, upon reporting ... submit to all examinations and tests requested of him.?
The Bulls will put that last phrase to the test when center Eddy Curry signs a contract next week.
General manager John Paxson further explained on Friday his plan to require Curry to submit to genetic testing, which was reported Tuesday in the Daily Herald. Curry?s attorney, Alan Milstein, responded by saying his client will never agree to such a test.
?Whenever an employer asks an employee to take a DNA test, there are privacy rights that are at issue,? Milstein said from Philadelphia. ?We would never compromise those rights that Eddy holds and would not set a precedent for another NBA player or any other employee, for that matter. It?s simply unacceptable, that kind of demand.?
The Bulls want Curry to undergo a DNA blood test to help determine if he is genetically disposed to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a potentially deadly disorder when combined with arrhythmia. The deaths of basketball stars Hank Gathers and Reggie Lewis in the 1990s were blamed on the condition.
The article continues by saying the Bulls expect this matter to be ruled upon via arbitration. I thnk that's for the best, since this is an issue that can transcend the Bulls and Curry to be further extended to other sports and employers in all walks of life. I can see a compelling argument on either side (as outlined very well in the Herald piece), so best to let the lawyers have at it.