Nick Rolovich’s standoff with WSU over Covid vaccine mandate finally ends

The Covid vaccine standoff between the State of Washington and Washington State Cougars head football coach Nick Rolovich ended with his termination as the October 18 deadline for either acquiring full vaccination status or receiving an approved medical or religious exemption arrived without his vaccination.

The saga began in July with Rolovich announcing he would not be attending Pac-12 media day in person because he had chosen not to receive a Covid vaccination, becoming the only coach in the conference to meet with reporters remotely.

He declined to elaborate on his decision making process then, and he has declined to comment on it ever since, only answering reporters’ questions about his status with some variation of “I intend to follow the mandate.” October 4 — the last day to receive any of the three safe and effective Covid vaccines — came and went without any apparent change in his status.

On October 9 we learned that he intends to pursue a religious exemption. That seemed like a long shot, for more than one reason, and it turned out it was.

Follow along below for the latest developments.