Year in review: College athletes found their voices during pandemic
LOS ANGELES — On the first day of July, University of California athletes Andrew Cooper and Valentino Daltoso met over FaceTime to discuss their mounting frustration with how college athletic departments were handling their preparation to play football during a pandemic.
A few weeks before, 30 UCLA football players had put their names on a document demanding that the school guarantee the scholarship agreements of any player who chose to opt out to protect their health and safety. But Cooper, a cross-country runner, and Daltoso, a football player, were discussing something more radical — bringing together players from more than one school to pursue action.
