Washington State coach Nick Rolovich, four assistants fired for cause over COVID-19 vaccine mandate
The second-year Washington State coach sought a religious exemption to a state and university policy
10/18/21
By David Cobb
(excerpts)

Washington State football coach Nick Rolovich has been fired for cause after refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine and being noncompliant with both state and university policies, the university announced Monday evening. Rolovich sought, and appears to have been denied, a religious exemption from those mandates, which required employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 18 if they wished to continue working.

Four Washington State assistant coaches have also been terminated: Ricky Logo (defensive tackles), John Richardson (assistant head coach, cornerbacks), Craig Stutzmann (co-offensive coordinator, quarterbacks) and Mark Weber (offensive line)...
"This is a disheartening day for our football program. Our priority has been and will continue to be the health and well-being of the young men on our team," said athletic director Pat Chun in a statement. "The leadership on our football team is filled with young men of character, selflessness and resiliency and we are confident these same attributes will help guide this program as we move forward."

Rolovich, who earned $3 million a year at Wazzu, expressed uncertainty over his long-term status after his team's 34-31 victory over Stanford on Saturday, saying he was "waiting on an email" for his exemption request.

"I don't think this is in my hands," Rolovich said. "I've been settled for a long time on it, and I believe it's going to work out the right way."

"I have elected not to receive a COVID-19 vaccine for reasons which will remain private," Rolovich said in a statement at the time...

Even if he were to have received an exemption to the state mandate, Rolovich still faced hurdles at Washington State, which enacted a vaccination requirement for employees before a similar policy for all state employees went into effect.

"It certainly skews the perception of our message," Washington State University president Kirk Schulz told the New York Times. "At most universities, people pay attention to what the university president, the football coach, the basketball coach and the athletic director have to say -- that's just the reality. People look at them for leadership because they're highly visible and highly compensated..."

Despite the saga, Rolovich managed guide the Cougars to three straight victories after they started 1-3 to put Wazzu on firm footing at 4-3 (3-2 Pac-12) entering its Week 8 game at BYU.

He also appeared to have the backing of his team. Starting quarterback Jayden de Laura voiced support for the embattled coach on behalf of Washington State players following the Cougars' victory over Oregon State on Oct. 9. "Players, we have no issue with Coach Rolo," de Laura said. "We have no issue with any of our coaches. We respect their decisions..."

source:
https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-power-rankings-cincinnati-jumps-alabama-as-oregon-returns-to-the-top-five/

My comment:
This is happening over and over again across this nation. Good people are being forced out of their jobs and careers. Lives are being negatively affected across America. This must be recognized as a massive human tragedy and disgrace against our constitutional rights. A free nation cannot survive such tyranny and abuse of human rights on such a wholesale basis. The freedom to choose your own health decisions must be respected, or the nation has been overthrown and taken over by communist dictates. GE