#Washington State’s Nick Rolovich caught on tape punishing player for unity plans

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Kassidy Woods (right) celebrates with Robert Lewis; Nick Rolovich
AP

There is a new posterboy for the many injustices in college athletics.

Meet 41-year-old Washington State football coach Nick Rolovich.

Rolovich essentially cut wide receiver Kassidy Woods from the team Sunday after Woods told him he was opting out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 health concerns and joining the player-led Pac-12 Conference’s unity group demanding fair treatment on multiple fronts.

Woods, who is at high risk because of sickle cell disease, shared an audio recording of his call with Rolovich with the Dallas Morning News. It shows Rolovich initially was understanding of the decision.

The tone of the exchange changed when Woods confirmed he stands with the Pac-12 players threatening to opt out of training camp and games “because NCAA sports exploit college athletes physically, economically and academically, and also disproportionately harm Black college athletes,” as detailed in a letter published last week by The Players’ Tribune. More than 400 players reportedly were involved in forming the unity movement.

The Pac-12 guarantees four-year scholarships and recently updated the guarantee for all players who opt out due to COVID-19. But there is an ongoing fight for college athlete compensation, especially for use of name and likeness in big-revenue sports like football and basketball. The group also seeks support for Black Lives Matter.

Rolovich, a former Arena Football League quarterback who was the head coach at Hawaii before coming to Washington State in January, drew a hard-line distinction.

“If you say, ‘I’m opting out ‘cause of COVID and health and safety,’ I’m good,” Rolovich said, per the transcript. “But this group is going to change, uh, I guess, how things go in the future for everybody, at least at our school. Um, so just think about that is, if it’s about getting paid and not (inaudible) about racial justice and that stuff. Then it’s probably, it’s there’s two sides, there’s two sides here. I’m good with the Sickle Cell and the COVID, but this, this group is going to be at a different level as far as how we’re kind of going to move forward in the future.”

Woods said he wanted to continue to train with the team but did not feel safe traveling. That was a non-starter for Rolovich because it sends a “mixed message.”

“You’ll probably have to get your stuff out of the locker room, you know what I mean? Stuff like that,” Rolovich said. “So, and you know, it adds to another — the less people we can have around the better chance we will have this season, I guess is what I’m saying. And if you’re not going to play, then we’re going to use the resources on the guys that are going to play this year.”

Washington State held a team meeting to address the situation Sunday. Woods is not the team’s only opt-out. Rolovich’s words could cause him to lose the locker room and damage recruiting efforts.

Woods’ mother tweeted that multiple players who support the unity movement were told to clean out their lockers and various reports suggest her son is not alone.

The school said no players have been removed from the team, according to ESPN.