Former ESPN employees are suing after being fired for rejecting COVID-19 vaccine.

Two former ESPN employees are suing the sports company, claiming they were fired for failing to meet the Covid-19 vaccine mandate.

A federal lawsuit was filed Wednesday on behalf of plaintiffs Allison Williams and Beth Faber in US District Court in Connecticut.

Williams was a former reporter on The Worldwide Leader in Sports, while Faber was a longtime producer. Both were released in late 2021. Williams and Faber opposed the vaccine on religious and disability grounds. Her requests for release were both denied, which allegedly led to her dismissal.

The lawsuit alleges ESPN made “no serious attempt” to “place her.” The sports network and its parent company, The Walt Disney Company, are listed as defendants.

Allison Williams is suing ESPN along with former colleague Beth Faber after being fired

“Obligation [them] Choosing between continuing their employment and violating their religious beliefs in order to maintain their livelihood places a significant strain on the plaintiffs’ ability to conduct themselves in accordance with their genuinely held religious beliefs,” attorney Christopher Dunn wrote in the Legal action.

Both Faber and Williams claim they experienced “discrimination … because of their religious beliefs.” Plaintiffs are seeking a trial by jury on all counts believed to be so.

Williams, who has been open about vaccine mandates, worked on the sidelines of college football for FOX Sports this season. The reporter started at ESPN in 2010.

Williams worked as a part-time reporter for the network during numerous football games

Meanwhile, Faber was hired by ESPN in 1991 and has been with the company for over three decades. According to the lawsuit, Faber said she “must receive a Covid-19 vaccination” and that “fully vaccinated individuals will receive preferential treatment.”

ESPN denied her request for religious exemption on the grounds, among other things, that she had failed to provide “validation by a priest” in support of her position under the lawsuit.

Faber was subsequently told to comply with ESPN’s vaccination mandate, apply for vacancies within the company that did not require such requirements, or she would be “disconnected” from employment at the Bristol-based company. She was terminated on September 9, 2021, according to the lawsuit.

Williams had been with the network since 2010, typically working part-time in collegiate sports

Meanwhile, Williams requested an exemption because she was undergoing IVF at the time, and had concerns about the unknown effects the vaccine would have on her unborn fetus.

The CDC has stated that “there is currently no evidence that vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, cause fertility problems in women or men.”

It has been claimed that ESPN’s mandate also contradicts William’s Christian beliefs. She claimed she has natural immunity to Covid-19 and offered other solutions, such as wearing a mask, although her request for a religious exemption was also denied. Williams was told she had “one week to get the Covid-19 vaccine or she would be terminated”.

Williams declined vaccination and was subsequently terminated on October 19, 2021, according to the lawsuit.

Williams and her husband welcomed a second child in July 2022.

In October, Williams spoke to FOX News’ Tucker Carlson about her departure from ESPN. Originally, Williams believed she could do her job “safely and efficiently” just as she did in fall 2020, when she wore a mask and underwent weekly tests.

However, the company required all employees traveling to events to be fully vaccinated and “without exceptions” from August 1.

“I really felt like I could do my job virtually without posing a risk to other people,” she explained.

“When we let companies or governments tell us what is best for our health. That’s a scary place,” Williams said, citing vaccine mandates ordered by big business, local and federal governments last fall.

“It’s un-American what doesn’t happen in the land of the free.”