Washington State Fires Football Coach Nick Rolovich, Coaching Staff After Vaccine Refusal
Rolovich walks away from a job that paid him $3mil a year with a contract through 2025. He was, until yesterday, the highest-paid state employee in Washington.
Source: ESPN
PULLMAN, Wash. -- Washington State fired football coach Nick Rolovich and four of his assistants on Monday after they refused to comply with a mandate that all state employees be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee had set a deadline of Monday for thousands of state employees, including the Cougars' coaches, to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or risk losing their jobs.
"The noncompliance with this requirement renders [Rolovich] ineligible to be employed at Washington State University and therefore can no longer fulfill the duties as a head coach of our football program effective immediately," Washington State athletic director Pat Chun said during a Monday night news conference. "It is disheartening to be here today. Our football team is hurting. Our WSU community is fractured. Today will have a lasting impact on the young men on our team and the remaining coaches and staff."