Former ESPN reporter Allison Williams sues network and Disney after vaccine mandate led to firing

Former ESPN reporter Allison Williams is suing the sports network after she was fired in 2021 for failing to comply with the company's COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Williams and former ESPN producer Beth Faber filed a joint lawsuit against ESPN and Disney in Connecticut on Wednesday, claiming their religious beliefs were violated.

According to the lawsuit, Williams said she applied in August 2021 for a disability exemption from the network's vaccine mandate because she was undergoing in vitro fertilization. (The CDC has stated "there is currently no evidence that any vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, cause fertility problems in women or men.")

Williams said she was unable to obtain a doctor's letter to support her concerns because medical providers were being "threatened" for doing so in California, leading her to apply for a religious exemption weeks later.

"(Williams) informed Defendants in writing that she was a Christian and that her sincerely held and heartfelt religious beliefs prohibited her from being vaccinated," the suit reads.

ALLISON WILLIAMS: ESPN reporter leaving network due to vaccine mandate

When asked by management for additional information, Williams said she hadn't received any vaccinations since she had "a bad reaction to one" at age 12 and that her daughter, who was 2 at the time, hadn't received any vaccinations either.

The lawsuit claims that ESPN and Disney made no efforts to accommodate Williams, who offered to work remote, test regularly and wear a mask, although NFL teams,  college football teams and certain venues didn't exclude the unvaccinated.

Williams' exemption request was denied in October 2021 and she was subsequently terminated a week later after refusing to get vaccinated, the suit says.

Faber's religious exemption was also denied and she was fired in September 2021 after nearly 31 years at the network. In the lawsuit, Faber said an ESPN HR representative told her "maybe God has led you to a new career, when God closes a door, he opens another."

MORE: Despite scientific evidence, Sage Steele says ESPN mandating COVID-19 vaccine is 'sick' and 'scary'

The 83-page complaint alleges that Disney's vaccine mandate was not the company's own doing, but a "state action" influenced by its "symbiotic relationship with the Defense Department."

"It is well-known that the Defense Department has exercised direct editorial control over Disney’s content," the suit reads. "That control does not stop at content but extends to direct, indirect and covert encouragement as it pertains to policies and practices, such as vaccination requirements."

Faber and Williams are seeking "compensatory damages, back and front pay, reputational damages, damages for emotional trauma and distress, punitive damages, reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs of the action, pre- and post-judgment interest."

ESPN declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Williams announced in October 2021 that she was leaving the network rather than comply with ESPN's COVID-19 vaccination mandate. Williams said she's "morally and ethically" against the vaccine as she's looking to have another child with her husband.

"Ultimately, I cannot put a paycheck over principle," she said at the time. "And I will not sacrifice something that I believe and hold so strongly to maintain a career."

Williams and her husband welcomed a second child in July 2022. She now works for Fox Sports.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ex-ESPN reporter Allison Williams sues network over vaccine mandate