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Three former NBA referees filed a complaint against the NBA.
According to Jonathan Stempel of Reuters, Kenny Mauer, Mark Ayotte, and Jason Phillips are suing the league for firing them after they refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19. They claim the NBA wrongfully denied their religious exemption requests, which did not meet their “high standards” to forgo the shots.
A lawsuit filed Saturday in a Manhattan court said the league’s “jab or job ultimatum” led to the three referees getting suspended last season. The NBA required all employees, other than players, to get vaccinated.
“Had the NBA not taken upon itself to force faith-based conscientious objectors to adhere to secular norms, none of the plaintiffs’ complained-of injuries would have manifested,” the complaint said. “In sum: Plaintiffs were persecuted.”
All longtime officials, Ayotte was a referee for 17 seasons while Mauer worked for 35 years. Phillips became vice president of referee operations after 19 seasons.
While the league has lifted the vaccine mandate this season, it has not reinstated any of the three plaintiffs.
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