Former ESPN reporter Allison Williams has signed with a conservative outlet after she left ESPN due to the sports network’s coronavirus vaccine mandate.
The Daily Wire hired Williams to lead a sports series that will only be available to their paying members, according to a statement released Friday.
“The Daily Wire is one of America’s fastest growing media companies and I am thrilled and honored to join them. I am proud to be a part of a company that fights for our rights and I cannot wait to bring agenda-free sports reporting to the Daily Wire’s members and millions of followers,” Williams said.
Williams, who is not vaccinated against COVID-19, left ESPN after the company decided to follow the Biden administration’s directive that employers with more than 100 employees require the coronavirus vaccine for their workers or weekly testing.
“Leaving ESPN was one of the most difficult decisions of my career, but it was the right thing to do. I respect people who choose to get the COVID-19 vaccine, but it was not the appropriate medical decision for me at this time. No one should be forced to choose between their livelihood and the freedom to make their own health care choices—it is simply un-American,” Williams said in her statement.
Williams said she is not getting the vaccine because she wants to have a second child with her husband, although the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions said it is safe for those trying to conceive, pregnant mothers and those breastfeeding to get the vaccine.
The Daily Wire said it will not comply with Biden’s vaccine mandate on big companies and will be fighting the measure in court.
“The Biden administration continues to pressure businesses into acting as the enforcement arm of the federal government’s tyrannical vaccine regime. It’s a shame so many businesses are going along with it. We won’t,” Daily Wire co-founder and co-CEO Jeremy Boreing said.
Williams started at ESPN in 2011 and covered college basketball and football.
“Allison is a massive talent. ESPN’s loss is our members’ gain,” said Daily Wire co-founder and editor emeritus Ben Shapiro.