Washington State Fires Unvaccinated Football Coach and Assistants After Mandate Deadline Passes

Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

Washington State University has fired head coach Nick Rolovich and several assistants after they refused to get vaccinated against Covid-19, John Canzano of The Oregonian reported on Monday. The coaches were terminated for cause.

The university requires that all employees be vaccinated, with October 18th being the deadline for doing so. Rolovich, who was the state of Washington’s highest paid employee at $3.2 million a year, sought a religious exemption, but that appears to have been denied.

“I don’t think this is in my hands,” Rolovich had said before his termination. “I’ve been settled for a long time on it, and I believe it’s going to work out the right way.”

Rolovich, 42, said during the summer that he would not get vaccinated “for reasons which will remain private.” The second-year head coach said he wasn’t anti-vaccination.

Defensive coordinator Jake Dickert has been named interim head coach. He inherits a 4-3 team that’s on a three-game winning streak. Washington State is currently third in the PAC-12 North.

Rolovich wasn’t the only employee of the state terminated Monday. Washington State Patrol officer Robert LaMay ended 22 years of service after he also refused to get vaccinated. In a viral video, he can be seen and heard telling his fellow officers over the radio that he was being terminated “because I am dirty.”

LeMay signed off  by saying, “This is the last time you’ll hear me in a patrol car and [Governor] Jay Inslee can kiss my ass.”