Former Washington State football coach Nick Rolovich He lost his lawsuit against the university after he was fired for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine during the 2021 season.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Rice, who was Appointed by President Barack Obama In June 2011, Monday ruled that Washington state could not accommodate Rolovich without undue hardship, including increasing travel costs and hindering recruiting and fundraising efforts. The university also claimed damage to its reputation.
The university fired Rolovich, along with four assistant coaches, in October 2021 for refusing to comply with an order requiring all state employees to be vaccinated. Rolovich filed his lawsuit soon after, alleging the university made an unlawful termination in part due to “discriminatory and retaliatory conduct” by athletic director Pat Chun.
Rolovich claimed that, as a Catholic, he was exempt from the state's vaccine mandate, but his exemption request was denied.
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Nick Rolovich (AP Photo/Young Kwak/File)
However, Rice found no basis for Rolovich's objection to the vaccine on religious grounds.
“(Rolovich) has frequently expressed his secular concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine to friends, family members, and co-workers,” Rice wrote. “In thousands of pages of discovery, Plaintiff has not invoked a religious objection to the vaccine. This alone is the basis for dismissing Plaintiff's alleged religious objection.”
Following his dismissal, several Rolovich players spoke out in support of their head coach and his influence on their lives.
Former Washington State player and current Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jaylen Watson issued an emotional statement in support of Rolovich shortly after the coach was fired in October 2021.
Washington State Cougars head coach Nick Rolovich talks with officials during the game against the Utah Utes on Sept. 25, 2021, at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. (Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
“This man changed my life in so many ways. A true gentleman who always stood for what he believed in at heart. He was so pure and a true role model for me and my teammates. He was always bigger than the dollar sign that was 'the only thing you wrap your fingers around,'” she wrote. Watson on X (then known as Twitter). “Everyone attacks this guy day after day like he's not human or has feelings. “Forcing him to have no friends, all he had was us and all we had was him.”
Nick Haberer, a former Washington State gambler, spoke about the transformative impact Rolovich had on his life that same month.
“It's crazy to think that I came back to Australia a year ago not knowing what to do with my life and that Coach Rollo took a chance on me. He has been my coach, my mate and most importantly my mentor and taught me valuable life lessons that would make me proud.” Always be with me!” Haberer wrote about X.
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Nick Rolovich (James Snook – USA TODAY Sports/File)
During a November 2022 episode of “The Jason Rantz Show,” Rolovich claimed that around the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021, Washington State's athletic director suggested he receive the COVID-19 vaccine in front of the entire football team.
“The AD said, ‘Let’s put you on the 50-yard line,’ and we’ll have the team around you and the doctor will give you the vaccine in front of everyone,” Rolovich said.
“I said, 'Absolutely not. I have no desire to do that.' “I wasn't going to turn it into a circus.”
Meanwhile, Rice earlier passed a resolution making abortion medications more available. In April 2023, Rice ordered US authorities not to make any changes that would restrict access to the abortion drug mifepristone in 17 Democratic-led states that have filed lawsuits over the issue.
While states have filed lawsuits trying to expand access to birth control pills, Rice has not gone that far. Instead, he blocked the FDA from making any changes to the drug's access to the states that sued.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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