Washington State's Nick Rolovich Applied for COVID-19 Vaccine Religious Exemption

Washington State head football coach Nick Rolovich has applied for a religious exemption from the state's COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

June Jones, Rolovich's mentor and former coach at the University of Hawai'i, told USA Today's Brent Schrotenboer that Rolovich applied for the exemption despite Jones urging him to get vaccinated:

"He and I have had six or seven conversations over the last 60 days, and my advice is for him to take the shot. There's too much at stake to risk losing his job, and it's an unfortunate situation. It may be against what he believes obviously, but there are more people at stake – the university's credibility, the lives of the assistant coaches and their families. There's a whole bunch more at stake than just him, and that's exactly what I told him."

Rolovich is at risk of potentially losing his job with the Cougars if he isn't vaccinated soon.

Per the mandate from Washington's government implemented last month, state employees, including those in educational settings, are required to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 18.

Jones said that Rolovich's exemption hasn't been decided on yet, but it's in the Washington State coach's best interest to "take one for the team."

Rolovich's final day to comply with the mandate was Oct. 4, since the vaccine requires a two-week period for maximum efficacy. The 42-year-old didn't take part in person in the Pac-12's media day in July because of the conference's vaccine requirement.

Rolovich is in his second season as Cougars head coach after spending the previous four years at Hawai'i. He went 1-3 in 2020 and has lost three of his first five games to start this season.