One college-level football coach’s claim of a clandestine plot to fire him might sound like the beginning of a movie, but, for Nick Rolovich, it was allegedly his lived experience.
In fact, the purported internal plan was so inculcated at Washington State University, it was dubbed the “Rolo strategy,” according to Becket attorney Joe Davis, who is representing Rolovich in his legal quest against university officials he believes violated his constitutional rights to religious freedom.
“They were implementing something that they called internally the ‘Rolo strategy,’” Davis told CBN News of high-level executives at WSU. “[T]hey questioned [Rolovich’s] character because of his religious beliefs, they used words that aren’t appropriate on family programming to describe his religious beliefs. This is really shocking stuff that should never happen in this country.”
At the center of the case, Rolovich argues, is the almighty dollar. The coach — alongside his attorneys at Becket — is appealing to the Ninth Circuit after a federal district court ruled in WSU’s favor in January.
The Catholic coach led the WSU Cougars for nearly two full seasons before he ran into what proved to be an insurmountable hurdle — one reportedly placed in front of him by college higher-ups who feared financially painful retaliation from hefty donors if Rolovich was granted an exemption to the then-nascent COVID-19 shots.
In the early days of vaccination mandates, WSU established a blind review committee, a group of people tasked with determining the sincerity of employees’ requests for religious exemptions to the jabs.
Initially, Rolovich was purportedly granted a waiver.
“It’s no surprise [he was given an exemption], because he submitted a detailed explanation of his religious beliefs, the theological basis for it … he cited Catholic catechism teaching documents … and he noted that his priest and then his bishop had both supported him,” said Davis. “The review committee said, ‘Yes, he’s sincere.’”
That exemption, though, was short-lived. Not long after the blind board granted it, Rolovich submitted to the court, WSU executives intervened, pressuring the committee to flip its ruling.
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It was around the same time, in early August 2021, that Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) issued Proclamation 21-14, a mandate requiring state employees, educational staff, and healthcare workers to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 18, 2021.
According to court documents filed by Rolovich and his lawyers, WSU executives — as part of their alleged “Rolo strategy” — “worked closely” with Inslee on crafting the mandate, which was allegedly part of a larger “‘game plan in dealing with Rolovich’ that would allow it to compel him to be vaccinated.”
All of this, Davis said, stemmed from the media and donors who were “really upset” about Rolovich potentially being exempted from the COVID shots, so the university “yielded to that pressure.”
“Internally,” the attorney said, “[the university was] quite clear with Coach Rolovich, [telling him], ‘It’s because of the pressure from the donors, it’s because of the pressure from the media.’ They said, ‘We need you to be a leader and take this vaccine, regardless of your religious beliefs.’”
It’s only now, in retrospect, Davis argued, WSU is claiming the pressure on Rolovich to vaccinate was due to “safety concerns,” suggesting the coach’s close contact with athletes put him at great risk of spreading the virus. That argument underpinned the university’s legal win at the beginning of the year.
In the years after the height of the pandemic, it became apparent the shots were not a guarantee against the continued spread of COVID-19. Nevertheless, internal data from WSU found 94% of employees at the college were vaccinated and only 4% were granted religious or medical exemptions.
“It’s quite clear they thought that it tarnished Washington State’s ‘brand’ — that’s their word — to have a devoted Christian that stood by his beliefs and didn’t take the COVID-19 vaccine,” Davis said. “The only thing that tarnished their brand really was their refusal to live up to religious liberty, which is what this country is all about.”
For Rolovich, that’s what this fight boils down to: religious liberty.
Davis argued the plot against his client is nothing short of “coercion” that flies in the face of the coach’s rights as outlined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The attorney explained that, while there have been other cases along these lines, Rolovich’s is one of the first to reach the appellate level. The decision in this case, which could come later this year or early in 2026, will “set precedent” for other objectors nationwide, Davis said.
“It’s an important case,” he noted. “[C]oach Rolovich never wanted this fight to happen, but the fight came to him. … That’s an injustice that needs to be corrected.”
CBN News reached out to WSU for a statement but did not receive a response.
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