Former refs suing the NBA over vaccine mandate

Former referees Kenny Mauer, Mark Ayotte and Jason Phillips sued the NBA in federal court after they refused to get vaccinated for COVID-19, and subsequently weren't allowed to work during the 2021-22 season. The NBA did not reinstate the officials for the 2022-23 season, despite the vaccine mandate being lifted. The complaint alleges that the referees' civil rights and human rights were violated, and they were "persecuted."

The referees tried to obtain a religious exemption to getting vaccinated, though it's not clear what about the vaccines violated their religious principles. Mauer went on Minnesota radio and incorrectly claimed that the vaccine was made from "aborted fetal cells," and said that violated his Catholic faith.

"I've been a Catholic and a Christian since I was born," Mauer told Vineeta Sawkar on WCCO-AM 830. "I never thought that having a faith in our Lord Jesus Christ would prevent me from refereeing NBA basketball games but it has."

Mauer's further comments shed light on some other reasons why he may not have been invited back to work.

"We took part in a 30-minute interview. A Jewish lawyer from the NBA office interviewed all of us for about 30 minutes and I guess he determined if we were religious or not. That to me is ridiculous," Mauer said on the show, before Sawkar quickly ended the interview, telling him, "The religion of the attorney who questioned you is not relevant."

We will see how the case proceeds, but Mauer, a 35-year veteran referee, may have been caught up in the sort of online, antisemitic conspiracy-mongering that led to Kyrie Irving's suspension, given his insistence that a "Jewish lawyer" was the reason his exemption was denied. Right now, it looks like the NBA took a stance against discrimination, rather than violating an anti-vaxxer's civil rights.