A college football coach's refusal to get the coronavirus vaccine has cost him his job.
Second-year head coach Nick Rolovich was being terminated by Washington State for failure to comply with the state-issued vaccine mandate, the university said on Monday night.
Four assistant coaches were also being dismissed.
"Due to the requirements set forth in Washington Governor Jay Inslee's Proclamation 21-14.1, Nick Rolovich is no longer able to fulfill the duties as the football head coach at Washington State University," the athletics department said in a statement.
Rolovich's vaccination status became a national story in August, when he was limited to a remote appearance at Pac-12 Media Day due to being unvaccinated. He had previously declined to disclose why he wouldn't get the vaccine.
At Media Day, he apologized for being a "distraction" and indicated he was seeking an exemption from the state's then-recently issued vaccine mandate covering all state employees, including faculty and staff at state universities.
But apparently Rolovich and his staffers failed to obtain an exemption, and became subject to termination with the passing of the Monday deadline.
AD Pat Chun said the developments were "disheartening."
"This is a disheartening day for our football program," 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 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."
Hired in January 2020, Rolovich's $3.2 million salary made him the state's highest-paid employee, according to CNN.
Asked about his future after last week's home win over Stanford, Rolovich admitted he wasn't sure if he had just coached his last game with the Cougars. It looks like it was.
This season, the team was off to a 4-3 start under Rolovich. Defensive coordinator Jake Dikert was promoted to head coach as his replacement.
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