A group of Pac-12 football players with the #WeAreUnited movement met with officials from the California governor’s office Tuesday to discuss concerns about their schools’ COVID-19 protocols and protecting their college eligibility.
The players hope an executive order from Gov. Gavin Newsom could mandate player-approved, third-party oversight of COVID-19 rules at the Pac-12s six California schools and ensure players who opt out of the coming season because of coronavirus won’t lose a year of eligibility.
The Pac-12 has said players who opt out will stay on scholarship this season, but whether college athletes would be allowed to preserve their eligibility in that situation is undetermined.
“We really want to be able to move a little faster in getting heath guidelines out there for us,” California offensive lineman Valentino Daltoso told AP during a conference call with several players from the group. “The eligibility piece is huge for us. If you were to opt out without eligibility guarantees, you could be effectively ending your eligibility. The governor’s office can help us with that.”
A request from comment from the California governor’s office was not immediately returned.