Washington State University fired its football coach, Nick Rolovich, and four of his assistants for failing to comply with the state’s Covid-19 vaccination mandate, the school announced on Monday.
Mr. Rolovich, the state’s highest-paid employee, applied for a religious exemption this month from the mandate, among the strictest in the country. The status of the exemption request was unclear when the firings occurred.
“This is a disheartening day for our football program,” the university’s athletic director, Pat Chun, said in a statement. “Our priority has been and will continue to be the health and well-being of the young men on our team.”
The school said that the team’s defensive coordinator, Jake Dickert, would become acting head coach.
www.nytimes.com/live/2021/10/18/world/covid-delta-variant-vaccine