When Eddy Curry runs up and down the Pepsi Center floor tonight for the New York Knicks, his concern will be winning the game, not whether he’ll lose his life.
“There were a lot of doctors that looked at my heart,” Curry said. “Everybody had the same opinion, that I was fine to play.”
The Chicago Bulls, however, became concerned about Curry’s health after he missed the final 13 games of last season and the playoffs after being diagnosed with a benign arrhythmia. While several cardiologists cleared Curry to play, the Bulls asked for a DNA test to see if he suffered from cardiomyopathy, which had led to the deaths of former Boston Celtics guard Reggie Lewis and former Loyola Marymount star Hank Gathers.
Bulls general manager Jim Paxson offered Curry $400,000 guaranteed annually for the next 50 years if he failed the genetic test. Curry refused, saying it violated his right to privacy.
“I would never put a player on the floor in a Chicago Bulls uniform if I didn’t think I had done everything in my power to find out all the information that was available to us,” Paxson said at an Oct. 3 news conference. “You can debate genetic testing until you’re blue in the face. But what I know and what I’ve learned over the last six months is that the test could have helped us determine the best course of action. We went so far as to offer Eddy an opportunity to not only find out, but to live his life comfortably, because that’s how much we cared about him.”
Unable to reach a compromise, the Bulls signed Curry to a six-year, $56 million contract before trading him and Antonio Davis on Oct. 4 to the Knicks for Tim Thomas, Michael Sweetney, Jermaine Jackson and draft picks.The Knicks did not ask Curry to take a DNA test.
“I don’t feel any way about it,” said Curry, when asked about the Bulls. “It was one of those things where you look at it as a business. It’s possible that you won’t play in the same city your whole career.”
With Curry’s situation still in the news, Atlanta center Jason Collier died Oct. 16 due to a sudden heart rhythm disturbance caused by an abnormally enlarged heart.
“I took it hard because he was a fellow NBA player and someone I had a lot of respect for as a player,” said Curry, 22. “In regards to it being related to my situation, I really didn’t know exactly what his situation was or what he went through. As far as I know, there were no signs or anything. I just look at that as a sign it can happen to anybody at any time. I feel very fortunate to come out and play every night.”
Staff writer Marc J. Spears can be reached at 303-820-5449 or mspears@denverpost.com.
