UCLA football players are reportedly demanding that a "third-party health official" be at all activities to ensure COVID-19 prevention protocols are followed.
UCLA football players are demanding that a "third-party health official" be present at all football activities to ensure COVID-19 prevention protocols are being followed, according to the Los Angeles Times' Brady McCollough.
Thirty UCLA football players reportedly met virtually Thursday night to craft a document that asserts that they do not trust head coach Chip Kelly's program to act in the players' best interest, writing that the school has “perpetually failed us.” In the letter, the players cite prior “neglected and mismanaged injury cases."
The demand of the additional health official is just one of their requests. According to the LA Times, the players are also demanding that anonymous whistleblower protections are provided for athletes and staff to report violations. They additionally seek to allow each player to make a decision regarding a return without fear of retaliation.
“These demands reflect our call for an environment in which we do not feel pressured to return to competition, and if we choose not to return, that our decision will be respected,” the document, as obtained by the LA Times, says. “If our demands are not met, we will refrain from booster events, recruiting events and all football-related promotional activities.
"The decision to return to training amidst a global pandemic has put us, the student-athletes, on the frontlines of a battle that we as a nation have not yet been able to win. We feel that as some of the first members of the community to attempt a return to normalcy, we must have assurances that allow us to make ."
This past week the school announced that the entire football team and other athletes involved in fall sports who live locally can return to campus as soon as this Monday.
The return to campus is voluntary and athletes will undergo testing for COVID-19 upon their return to campus. Health procedures vary depending on how an athlete commutes to campus.
Matt Elliot, UCLA’s senior associate athletic director for internal operations, told the LA Times that a department task force has been meeting daily for around a month to discuss protocols. Elliott added that the school could not guarantee that scholarships would be protected beyond this coming season if student-athletes did not return to campus.
Kelly has coached two full seasons at UCLA. The LA Times' Ben Bolch reported in early June that more than 70 football players have left UCLA with remaining eligibility since Kelly’s arrival with the Bruins.
A number of schools, including the University of Texas and University of Houston, have had college football players test positive for COVID-19 since voluntary workouts resumed.
At Texas specifically, student athletes recently issued a letter to their administration stating they are prepared not to participate in the recruiting efforts of incoming players or donor-related events if a number of changes are not made by the fall semester. The changes demanded by Texas athletes relate to issues of diversity and inclusion.
UCLA is currently set to open its season against New Mexico State on Aug. 29 at the Rose Bowl.