Viral Recriminations at Berkeley Tuesday, November 30, 2021
Cal COVID crisis: Audio recording of parent meeting reveals frustration with university, Berkeley health officials The Bears were 99% vaccinated but had two games impacted By Jon Wilner | Bay Area News Group | Mercury News November 29, 2021 | UPDATED: November 30, 2021
As the COVID crisis threatened to derail Cal’s season in early November, confusion soared within the football program. Why had a handful of cases prompted mass testing of players and staff? Why had a program with strict safety protocols been called out publicly by the City of Berkeley’s health officials, supposedly causing the players to be shamed on campus? And most of all, why had a program with a 99% vaccination rate become the only team in major college football to have a game rescheduled because of the virus? Coach Justin Wilcox was measured in his public comments throughout the two-week crisis. But privately, Wilcox and others were deeply frustrated with the handling of the situation by the university, according to a recording of a virtual meeting between team parents, Wilcox and Cal medical officials that was obtained by this news organization.* ---*Editorial Note: It is generally illegal in California to record someone in a non-public situation without permission. This news report does not indicate whether permission was given. Typically, Zoom-type meetings in which a recording is made include an announcement and the recording includes video. The recording in this case is described in the headline as audio. It is unclear whether the "call" included video. But even ordinary phone conversations cannot be legally recorded without permission by participants. ----
Midway through the hour-long meeting, the topic turned to the statement issued by Berkeley Public Health, which included previously unpublished case data and criticized the Bears for “ongoing” failures to follow public health protocols. During a tense exchange, Wilcox asked assistant vice chancellor Guy Nicolette, who oversees University Health Services, if the statement constituted a violation of player privacy. Nicolette explained that he disagreed with the tone of the statement — “I did not find that helpful” UCLA Faculty Association Blog: 4th Quarter 2021
189
