Allison Williams is set to be terminated from ESPN after refusing Disney’s vaccine mandate for employees. Williams cites her desire for a child for not wanting the vaccine.
Summary
ESPN reporter Allison Williams is leaving the network rather than comply with the COVID-19 vaccine mandate from ESPN’s parent company Disney.
- Williams said in an Instagram video she will not be getting the vaccine because she is “morally and ethically not aligned with [a mandate].”
- A “request for exemption” was denied according to Williams, who joined ESPN in 2011 and has been a member of college sports coverage.
- The reporter cited the desire for her and her husband to conceive their second child as the reason for not getting vaccinated, mentioning women “in regards to fertility and getting the injection.”
- There is no documented risk of miscarriages or fertility issues associated with any of the COVID-19 vaccines, but there is increased risk of miscarriages associated with COVID-19 infection.
- The Daily Beast briefly reported on Allison Williams’ decision to “quit her job”, and cites a quote from a University of Missouri doctor saying the vaccine does not “interact with a woman’s reproductive organs.”
- Deadline noted ESPN’s comment that they are “working through a thorough review of accommodation requests on a case by case basis” and did not directly respond to questions about Williams.
- USA Today said ESPN implemented their mandate for “staffers at live events” in August and announced enforcement this month for all employees.
- Fox News reports Williams previously said she was told by her doctor not to get the vaccine while she was trying to get pregnant.
- The Daily Mail and New York Post mentioned another ESPN personality, Sage Steele, who criticized Disney’s vaccine mandate, but ultimately got vaccinated.
- Townhall.com referenced the CDC’s urgent guidance encouraging “those who are pregnant, recently became pregnant, breastfeeding, are trying to become pregnant or who might become pregnant in the future” to get vaccinated for COVID-19.
Author’s Take
Some conservatives believe it is a private employer’s right to require vaccination as a condition of employment. Other conservatives will argue that personal choice is only up to the individual and no entity, private or public, should have that power of an individual. The debate over vaccine mandates outside of public entities is an interesting one and has merit on both sides. But if one is going to refuse a vaccine mandate for a specific medical reason, it should at least be a sound reason. Williams has every right to refuse the vaccine for whatever reason she wants. Her reason citing fertility concerns is not a medically sound reason, and data has shown that.
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© Dallas Gerber, 2021
