College football coach fired for refusing COVID vaccine loses lawsuit after Obama-appointed judge rules

Former Washington State football coach Nick Rolovich lost a lawsuit against the university after he was fired for refusing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine during the 2021 season.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Rice, who was appointed by President Barack Obama in June 2011, ruled on Monday that Washington state could not admit Rolovic without undue hardship, including increased travel costs and hampered recruitment and fundraising efforts. The university also claimed damage to his reputation.

The university fired Rolovich, along with four assistant coaches, in October 2021 for refusing to comply with a mandate requiring all state employees to be vaccinated. Rolovich filed his lawsuit soon after, alleging the university wrongfully terminated him in part because of “discriminatory and vindictive conduct” by athletic director Pat Chun.

Rolovich claimed that, as a Catholic, he was exempt from the state’s vaccine mandate, but his request for an exemption was denied.

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However, Rice found no basis for Rolovich’s objection to vaccines on religious grounds.

“[Rolovich] frequently expressed secular concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine to friends, family members and co-workers,” Rice wrote. “In thousands of pages of discovery, the plaintiff does not invoke a religious objection to the vaccine. That alone is the basis for denying the plaintiff’s religious objection.”

After his firing, many of Rolovich’s players spoke in support of their head coach and the impact he had on their lives.

Former Washington State player and current Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Jaylen Watson gave an emotional statement in support of Rolovich shortly after the coach’s October 2021 firing.

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“This man changed my life in so many ways.. A true stand up guy who always stands up for what he believes in in his heart he was such a pure and true role model to me and my teammates. He was always bigger than a dollar sign which is the only thing that you wrap your fingers around,” Watson wrote on X (then known as Twitter). “Everybody attacks this man day in and day out like he’s not human or has feelings. Making him have no friends, all he had was us and all we had was him.”

Former Washington state bookie Nick Haberer spoke of the transformative impact Rolovich had on his life that same month.

“It’s crazy to think that a year ago I came back to Australia not knowing what to do with my life and that coach Rolo took a chance on me. He was my coach, my friend and most importantly my mentor and taught me valuable life lessons that will always be with me!” Haberer wrote on X.

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During a November 2022 episode of “The Jason Rantz Show”, Rolovich stated that in late 2020 and early 2021, Washington State’s athletic director suggested he receive the COVID-19 vaccine in front of the entire football team.

“The AD said, ‘Hey, let’s put you on the 50-yard line, we’re going to have a team all around you and the doctor is going to give you the shot in front of everybody,'” Rolovich said.

“I said, ‘Absolutely not. I have no desire to do that.’ I didn’t mean to make a circus out of it.”

Meanwhile, Rice previously passed a decision that made abortion drugs more widely available. In April 2023, Rice ordered US officials not to make any changes that would limit access to the abortion drug mifepristone in the 17 Democratic-led states that have sued over the issue.

While states have sued in an effort to expand access to the pill, Rice hasn’t gone that far. Instead, it prevented the FDA from making any changes to access to the drug in the states that sued.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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