Washington State coach Nick Rolovich out after not complying with COVID-19 vaccine mandate

Nick Rolovich.
(Image credit: Loren Orr/Getty Images)

Washington State football coach Nick Rolovich was fired with cause after refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine as required for all state employees, the school announced Monday night.

Four assistant coaches who also did not comply with the state mandate were fired as well. Washington State's athletic director, Pat Chun, told reporters "every employee at Washington State University understood what had to be done to be within full compliance of the governor's proclamation," and the football players are "the biggest loser" in the situation. The program is "hurting," Chun added, and "our WSU community is fractured."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.