Five Fast Facts

• Rolocich applied for a religious exemption, but it was denied; WSU said at the time that they could not make appropriate accommodations for the head coach because the job required in-person interaction with hundreds of people a week
• The former coach appealed his firing, first to the athletic director and then to the University President; both appeals failed to convince the school to reverse the firing.
• For all state employees, even if a religious exemption was approved, the final decision rests with the supervisor and revolves around the ability to make appropriate accommodations for the employee’s unvaccinated status—accomodations that would require limited in-person interactions with other people
• Rolovich has not publicly shared what his exact religious opposition to vaccination is and has publicly announced that he is not against vaccination in general or the choices others make to receive the vaccine

PULLMAN, WA—The former Washington State University (WSU) head football coach has followed up on his plans to sue the state of Washington by filing a tort suit against the state.

Rolovich was fired from WSU in October 2021 after he said he would not receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Rolovich applied for a religious exemption from Gov. Jay Inslee’s mandate requiring all state employees to get vaccinated for COVID-19. His religious exemption was denied by WSU. They said that they could not make appropriate accommodations for Rolovich if he was unvaccinated.

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