Former ESPN reporter Allison Williams says President Biden's comment on COVID-19 vaccination 'was something a dictator says'



Former ESPN reporter Allison Williams says that President Joe Biden's claim that the coronavirus vaccination is not a matter of freedom or individual choice is something that a dictator would say.

Williams, who was forced out of her job because she declined to get vaccinated, made the comment during an interview with Megyn Kelly. The 37-year-old Allison said in a recent Instagram video that her request for accommodation was denied by ESPN and the Walt Disney Company.

"This is not about freedom or personal choice," Biden said last month. "It's about protecting yourself and those around you — the people you work with, the people you care about, the people you love. My job as president is to protect all Americans."

The president made the comment just before he announced that the Labor Department is developing an emergency rule to require employers with 100 or more employees to ensure that workers are fully vaccinated or that they furnish a negative test at least once each week.

Biden On Vaccine Requirements: 'This Is Not About Freedom Or Personal Choice' www.youtube.com

"I have never been so jarred by anything a president said, and I know Trump said some really crazy things. But to hear the leader of the free world stand up and say, 'This isn't about your freedom,' I thought, oh my God, it is always about our freedom," Williams told Kelly during the interview.

"This country exists on the principle of freedom. We are the land of the free and the home of the brave. And if we don't have freedom over our own bodies, if our bodily autonomy is not respected, this God-given, Constitutionally protected right to determine what we do with our bodies, we aren't free," she continued. "That was scary to me honestly Megyn. That was something a dictator says. That is not something a leader of free people says. What happened to the consent of the governed? What happened to the power of the people?"

Williams noted that when people are forced to choose between getting vaccinated and keeping their job, that represents a form of coercion.

"Everybody acts like, OK, well this was your choice, you chose not to get it, so go get a different job. That's not choice. That's coercion," she noted.

Former ESPN Reporter on Vaccine Mandates, Freedom, and Consent | The Megyn Kelly Show www.youtube.com

Ex-ESPN Reporter Allison Williams: Biden Is Acting Like A ‘Dictator’ By Issuing Vaccine Threats

Ex-ESPN Reporter Allison Williams: Biden Is Acting Like A ‘Dictator’ By Issuing Vaccine Threats

'If we don’t have freedom over our own bodies, if our bodily autonomy is not respected ... we aren’t free,' Allison Williams told Megyn Kelly.

ESPN Reporter Allison Williams Forced Out Of Job Over Vaxx Coercion: ‘I Cannot Put A Paycheck Over Principle’

ESPN sideline reporter Allison Williams said she will be leaving her job after the company tried to medically coerce her into getting the COVID jab.

Allison Williams delivers tearful and powerful explanation why she defied ESPN's vaccine mandate; will now be forced out of the company



Veteran sports reporter Allison Williams went into depth on her decision to defy ESPN's vaccine mandate – which will result in her departure from being on the sidelines of the biggest college football and basketball games.

Williams noted that she requested an exemption from the company's vaccine mandate, but ESPN and its parent company Walt Disney Company denied her request for an accommodation.

"Effective next week I will be separated from the company," she said in the video posted on her Instagram account.

Williams, 37, is attempting to have a second child with her husband but is experiencing fertility issues. Last month, Williams said she consulted with a doctor and a fertility specialist – which led her to decide "not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at this time while my husband and I try for a second child."

Williams delivered an emotional explanation as to why she will not get the COVID-19 vaccine at this time despite it costing her a job of a lifetime. She first thanked everyone who reached out to her because it brought in light during a "really dark and difficult time."

"Belief is a word I've been thinking about a lot lately, because in addition to the medical apprehensions regarding my desire to have another child in regards to receiving this injection, I am also so morally and ethically not aligned with this," Williams said of the vaccine mandates.

"And I've had to really dig deep and analyze my values and my morals, and ultimately I need to put them first," she continued. "And the irony in all this is that a lot of these same values and morals that I hold dear are what made me a really good employee, what helped with the success that I'm able to have in my career."

Williams pointed out that the Walt Disney Company sent an email to employees in April that recommended workers get the COVID vaccine, "but ultimately, it was a personal decision." However, the Walt Disney Company announced in late July that it would require all salaried and non-union employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine within 60 days.

Williams called out her employer, "Their values have clearly changed."

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

"A lot of people have brought up the moral obligation receiving the vaccine is to being a good citizen. And I weighed that, and I thought about the implications," she added. "We all want to be good neighbors. We all want to end this pandemic. But ultimately, an injection that does not stop transmission and spread for me, does not weigh in morally."

Williams reflected on all of the other Americans who will lose their jobs because of the vaccine mandates.

"So I want to just say that I know I'm not the only one walking away from a career they love, a profession that is a passion," she said. "And so many people that are in the same situation as me, serving society and benefiting this country in ways I could never do, they are nurses, they are teachers, they are doctors, they are police officers, and first responders, and they are most importantly our military, and pilots. And they too are choosing to put their beliefs first. And I just want you all to know I stand with you."

Williams then said she supports everyone who wants the vaccine mandates.

"Because if this is the direction we take our country, there will come a time when the government or corporations mandate you to get something that does not align with your values," she explains. "Power given is seldom returned. And when that day comes, I want you to at least know that we fought, and we tried."

"I don't know what the future holds, obviously, for any of us. I'm trying to wrap my head around the thought that the largest game I've worked in my career, the national championship game, might be the last game I work," Williams says as she fights back tears. "But I'm going to focus on what I have to be thankful for. I'm going to hold on to my faith. I'm going to pray that things get better, and that I can see you on the television set in some capacity, in some stadium, covering some game soon. Until then, God bless, and I'm going to go hug my baby."

Previously, ESPN was asked about Williams' vaccination status and the sports network said it would not "comment on an individual." ESPN did release a statement that read, "We are going through a thorough review of accommodation requests on a case by case basis, and are granting accommodations where warranted. Our focus is on a safe work environment for everyone."

'After a lot of prayer and deliberation,' veteran ESPN reporter Allison Williams quits over company's vaccine mandate



Veteran ESPN reporter Allison Williams said she won't be on the sidelines to cover college football this season because she refuses to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

"This will be the first fall in the last 15 years I won't be on the sidelines for College Football," Williams tweeted Thursday.

Williams revealed that the reason she is hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine is because she is attempting to have a second child.

"While my work is incredibly important to me, the most important role I have is as a mother," she wrote on Twitter. "Throughout our family planning with our doctor, as well as a fertility specialist, I have decided not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at this time while my husband and I try for a second child."

"This was a deeply difficult decision to make and it's not something I take lightly," Williams continued. "I understand vaccines have been essential in the effort to end this pandemic; however, taking the vaccine at this time is not in my best interest."

"After a lot of prayer and deliberation, I have decided I must put my family and personal health first," she added.

"I will miss being on the sidelines and am thankful for the support of my ESPN family," Williams concluded. "I look forward to when I can return to the games and job that I love."

Williams, who joined ESPN in 2011, said that the decision to walk away from her reporting job made her heart hurt, but she is "at peace" with her decision to go against the company's vaccine mandate.

This will be the first fall in the last 15 years I won’t be on the sidelines for College Football. My heart hurts… https://t.co/1SQ1iq6UWi

— Allison Williams (@AllisonW_Sports) 1631214091.0

ESPN said it would not "comment on an individual," but released a statement that read, "We are going through a thorough review of accommodation requests on a case by case basis, and are granting accommodations where warranted. Our focus is on a safe work environment for everyone."

The Walt Disney Company, which co-owns ESPN, announced in late July that it would require all salaried and non-union employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine within 60 days.

Disney's statement on the company's mandatory vaccinations:

At The Walt Disney Company, the safety and well-being of our employees during the pandemic has been and continues to be a top priority. Toward that end, and based on the latest recommendations of scientists, health officials and our own medical professionals that the COVID-19 vaccine provides the best protection against severe infection, we are requiring that all salaried and non-union hourly employees in the U.S. working at any of our sites be fully vaccinated.

The company added, "Vaccines are the best tool we all have to help control this global pandemic and protect our employees."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the COVID-19 vaccination for "people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to get pregnant now, or might become pregnant in the future."

"Evidence about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy has been growing," the CDC states. "These data suggest that the benefits of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine outweigh any known or potential risks of vaccination during pregnancy. There is currently no evidence that any vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines, cause fertility problems in women or men."

However, some women have reported experiencing irregular or missing menstrual periods, including bleeding that is heavier than usual, after receiving COVID-19 vaccines.

On Aug. 30, the National Institutes of Health announced it had paid $1.67 million to researchers from five institutions to study potential links between COVID-19 vaccinations and menstruation.

"Combined, the five NIH-funded studies – conducted by researchers at Boston University, Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins University, Michigan State University and Oregon Health and Science University – will likely incorporate between 400,000 and 500,000 participants, including adolescents and transgender and nonbinary people, according to Diana Bianchi, director of the agency's Institute of Child Health and Human Development, which is funding the research along with NIH's Office of Research on Women's Health," the Seattle Times reported.