Big businesses are being haunted by vaccine regulations once again. One is ESPN, which is being sued by two former employees in federal court for requiring workers to acquire the vaccination in order to maintain their employment. Both former employees of ESPN claim that the COVID-19 vaccination mandate “violated religious freedom rights,” and they have included The Walt Disney Company as a defendant in their case, which was submitted on Wednesday to the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. According to Deadline, Allison Williams and producer Beth Faber are the two workers who are pursuing the matter in court.

“Forcing [the] plaintiffs to choose between continuation of their employment and a violation of their religious beliefs in order to retain their livelihoods imposes a substantial burden on plaintiffs’ ability to conduct themselves in accordance with their sincerely held religious beliefs,” attorney Christopher Dunn wrote in the complaint.

Williams claims she declined the opportunity to play because she and her husband were attempting a second pregnancy at the time, and if ESPN failed to accommodate their circumstances, the organization would no longer support her “morally and ethically.” She remarked at the time this was a really tough decision to make and it’s not one I take lightly. She acknowledge that vaccinations have been crucial in the fight to stop the epidemic, but getting the shot now would not be in her best interests. Williams, a University of Miami graduate, began her career as a sideline reporter and host for Marlins Live’s pre- and post-game coverage of the Miami Dolphins. She advanced from there to a position at ESPN where she specialized on college basketball and football. Because of the COVID-19 vaccination requirement, she left ESPN in October 2021, and she joined The Daily Wire to continue covering sports. She has also started a series about wokeness at the Ben Shapiro-founded publication.

“My name is Allison Williams. I was a host and reporter at ESPN, but forced off the sidelines for refusing the COVID vaccine,” she announces in the trailer, which features UFC President Dana White and NBA players Jonathan Isaac and Enes Kanter Freedom. “Now I’m traveling across America, talking to some of the biggest names in sports to hear their thoughts on wokeness being injected into our favorite pastimes.”

The lawsuit has not yet been addressed by ESPN. – Steve Sijenyi