Washington State Fires Football Coach Over Vaccine Refusal

Nick Rolovich said in July he would not get a Covid-19 vaccine and maintained his stance once a state mandate was announced in August. Four of his assistants were also fired.

Washington State University fired its football coach, Nick Rolovich, and four of his assistants on Monday for failing to comply with the state’s Covid-19 vaccination mandate. He became one of the nation’s highest-profile employees to lose a job because of a refusal to be vaccinated.

Defensive coordinator Jake Dickert has been named the interim coach.

Rolovich, the state’s highest-paid employee, applied for a religious exemption this month from the mandate, among the strictest in the country. The status of the exemption request was unclear when the firings occurred.