A federal judge has ruled in favor of Washington State University (WSU) in a lawsuit brought by former head football coach Nicholas Rolovich, according to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington.
Judge Thomas O. Rice granted WSU’s motion for summary judgment, effectively ending the case.
The lawsuit stemmed from WSU’s termination of Rolovich in December 2021 after he refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and his request for a religious exemption was denied.
Rolovich claimed the university violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD), breached his contract, and improperly withheld wages.
Rolovich argued that WSU failed to accommodate his religious beliefs regarding the COVID-19 vaccine.
However, the court found that the evidence did not support the existence of a sincere religious belief that conflicted with vaccination.
The court noted that Rolovich had primarily expressed secular concerns about the vaccine to friends and family, not religious ones and that no such religious objection was mentioned in his extensive discovery.
Furthermore, the court determined that WSU demonstrated that accommodating Rolovich’s request would have created an “undue hardship.”
The court cited unrebutted expert testimony that the coach’s unvaccinated status increased the risk of spreading COVID-19, and his refusal to wear a mask during games and meetings further compounded the issue.
The court also noted Rolovich’s frequent interactions with hundreds of people as a head football coach.
The judge also ruled that WSU had “just cause” to terminate Rolovich’s employment, rejecting the claims of breach of contract and wage withholding.
The court determined that WSU had provided reasonable grounds for terminating the coach.
Judge Rice denied Rolovich’s motion for partial summary judgment and also denied as moot the defense motion to stay discovery, effectively closing the case.
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