Jim Moore: WSU’s Rolovich, the state’s highest-paid employee, has a simple choice to make

Editor’s note: After this column was published, Washington State University football coach Nick Rolovich announced that he plans to follow the mandate from Gov. Jay Inslee. Whether that means he will actually be vaccinated for COVID-19 remains unclear.

Since Washington State football coach Nick Rolovich said last month he’s not getting vaccinated because of personal reasons, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve laughed. And I’m not laughing because it’s funny. I’m laughing at how ridiculous this whole thing is, and I’m also thinking, didn’t we already get rid of a crazy coach, and now we’ve doubled down with another?

I say “we” because I’m a Washington State alum, and I’ve always been a proud Coug, but our last two football coaches, Mike Leach and Rolovich, have tested my pride. I got sick of Leach’s arrogance and lack of class, and then in the span of 19 months, from the time Rolovich was hired on Jan. 13, 2020 to now, I’ve gone from “I really like our new coach” to “Geez, our coach is an idiot.”

Rolovich has somehow sidestepped consequences, but that’s about to end in light of Gov. Jay Inslee’s mandate Wednesday, ordering all public, private and charter school employees to be vaccinated or risk losing their jobs. It stiffened Inslee’s proclamation last week requiring most state employees to get vaccinated, which didn’t apply to higher education. That changed Wednesday and puts Rolovich in the crosshairs more than ever before.

From reports and comments in Pullman, you can tell that Rolovich’s bosses, WSU president Kirk Schulz and athletic director Pat Chun, are annoyed by Rolovich’s stance.

Schulz has been quoted as saying: “The science clearly shows that the COVID-19 vaccine nearly eliminates the chance of death or serious illness related to a COVID-19 infection and is a critical element in protecting public health locally and worldwide.”

I’m guessing that Schulz and Chun haven’t fired Rolovich because of possible legal repercussions from what could be perceived as a wrongful dismissal, but Inslee’s latest mandate could strengthen their case to get rid of their coach.

Then again, Rolovich might reconsider and get the shot and put his personal reasons aside, reasons he has never disclosed, which I have trouble understanding. In his position as the state’s highest-paid employee, who makes $3.2 million a year, he has a responsibility to explain himself. If he did, I might think, “Oh, OK, I get it now,” or I might still think his reasons make no sense at all.

I don’t see him backing down and stepping up at this point. Rolovich has dug his feet in, and I doubt that a backhoe could get him to change his position even after Inslee told us that more than 95 percent of Covid hospitalizations are unvaccinated patients.

Now we’re facing another statewide indoor mask requirement starting on Monday, thanks in part to a lot of personal choicers like Rolovich, who have made dubious decisions about vaccinations, spurning science and the welfare of others.

Rolovich won’t have any wiggle room anymore. WSU athletics released another statement Wednesday that indicated as much, saying: “We applaud the efforts of Gov. Inslee to protect the health and safety of the people of Washington. Washington State athletics will continue to follow all campus, local, state, Pac-12 and NCAA guidelines related to health and safety surrounding COVID-19, and we will work to ensure the mandates in the governor’s proclamation are followed.”

If they’re working to ensure the mandates, that tells me it’s time for Rolovich to fall in line or else.

As it stands now, the Cougars have the only unvaccinated coach in the Pac-12 and, according to Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News, the lowest vaccinated Pac-12 team at 80 percent.

Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff said teams could face forfeits this year due to a COVID-19 outbreak, and let’s face it, if the Cougs are going to be favored in anything this year, it’s as the most likely Pac-12 team to forfeit a game. I feel so unfortunately sure of this happening that I’d set the over-under on Coug forfeits at 1 1/2 games and probably bet on the over.

If I’m a Husky, I’m cracking wise on Washington State and telling my Coug buddies: “Hey, might as well forfeit the Apple Cup because you’ve lost eight straight to us anyway, and it would have been nine in a row if we played last year.”

That was one of the things I liked about Rolovich when he was introduced as our new coach. He knew how many days it was until the Apple Cup, understanding how important the rivalry is to the Cougs. Rolovich also won me over by meeting up and buying drinks for Cougs at west-of-the-mountains bars and promoting Pullman restaurants during the height of the pandemic.

I also liked him simply because he was ABL — Anyone But Leach. He seemed normal, likable and fun, and I was also hoping he could keep the momentum going with the football program. All of that seemed possible in his first virus-shortened season last year. Even though the Cougs went 1-3, they flashed promise.

Until Wednesday, we faced the good chance of a season filled with distractions featuring constant questions about Rolovich’s unvaccinated status. I also felt like it was going to really increase the pressure on a coach who shouldn’t feel pressure at all with it being his first full season. But he wouldn’t get as much slack from the pro-vaxxers if the Cougs stumbled out of the gate and continued to lose on a regular basis.

Now because of Inslee’s mandate, Rolovich has two options:

Get vaccinated or get fired.

Jim Moore has covered Washington’s sports scene from every angle for multiple news outlets. You can find him on Twitter @cougsgo.

This story was originally published August 19, 2021 at 6:00 AM.