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Former Hawaii coach June Jones said he had failed to convince Washington state coach Nick Rolovich to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Rolovich and Jones are close after Rolovich played for Jones in Hawaii and took over as the team’s coach after Jones retired. Rolovich is in his second season as a Washington state coach and all Washington state employees must be fully immunized by October 18.
Jones told USA Today that Rolovich was not vaccinated despite his best efforts to persuade him to get the vaccine. He told the newspaper that Rolovich had asked for a religious exemption.
“He and I have had six or seven conversations in the last 60 days, and my advice is that he take the hit,” said Jones, a former NFL head coach who coached quarterback Rolovich at the University of Hawaii in 2000 and 2001. “There is too much at stake to risk losing your job, and it’s an unfortunate situation. It might be against what he obviously believes, but there are more people at stake – the credibility of the university, the lives of assistant coaches and their families. There’s a lot more to it than him, and that’s exactly what I told him.
Rolovich could lose his job
Put simply, Rolovich risks losing his job if his religious exemption is not granted and is the only Power Five coach in college football in this potentially precarious situation. The San Jose Mercury News described the religious exemption process earlier this week should Rolovich seek an exemption.
At some point before October 18, a team of at least two people trained in the exemption review process will determine whether Rolovich’s applications meet the standard for approval set by the WSU (in conjunction with the prosecutor’s office General of the State).
As with all other exemption requests – the university has received hundreds – Rolovich’s name and department are not visible to those reviewing the request. The blind exam was designed to create fairness for employees across all WSU campuses, regardless of their position or salary.
Rolovich’s exemption request would be approved in two stages. If approved in the blind exam, it will go to the sports department. The department would then determine if Rolovich could perform the duties of the Washington state football head coach without being vaccinated given the many public duties of a Power Five football coach.
If Rolovich’s exemption is denied, he would have the option of getting the vaccine before October 18 and being put on unpaid leave until he is fully immunized. If he refuses to do so, he could be fired. A state employee in Washington is considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19 two weeks after the final dose of a two-dose vaccination or two weeks after the Johnson & Johnson single injection vaccination.
Washington State President Kirk Schulz previously said Rolovich would not get special treatment from the school.
Rolovich only said he would comply with the warrant
Rolovich declined to discuss in detail his decision not to be vaccinated. His decision became known over the summer when he was the only coach unable to attend Pac-12 media day in person because he was not vaccinated.
Rolovich has repeatedly said he will comply with Washington state’s mandate and declined to answer many questions from reporters to explain his position on vaccination. This position is important to the public, because Rolovich is the highest paid government employee. He earns $ 3.5 million a year. And if the school ends up separating from him due to the vaccination warrant, he could be fired for just cause and receive nothing from his buy-back.
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