Live From The Arrogance Ballroom

The sound of Allison Williams and her White Privilege Orchestra

Veteran reporter Allison Williams has decided to leave ESPN rather than comply with the network's mandate that all employees be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Williams announced last month that for the first time in 15 years, she would not be on the sidelines during ESPN's college football broadcasts because she had declined the vaccine. (The network made vaccinations mandatory for staffers at live events at the beginning of August, then expanded it to all employees this month.)

Then on Friday, she posted a five-minute video on Instagram to explain her decision, saying she is "so morally and ethically not aligned with this" as she and her husband are looking to have another child.

Williams cited anecdotal evidence of women having health issues after getting the vaccine as one of the reasons she is choosing not to follow the company mandate.

However, the Centers for Disease Control has said there is currently no evidence the COVID vaccines cause fertility problems in women and men, and that "the benefits of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine outweigh any known or potential risks of vaccination during pregnancy."

From where I sit, the truly lamentable aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic is the way it’s brought out the stupid in people from whom I wouldn’t have expected it. It’s not simply that I can’t agree with their position on COVID-19 vaccines, but that their arguments are so ignorant and lacking in anything even faintly resembling factual underpinning.

Granted, I know nothing about Allison Williams. She may have a double Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics and Chemical Engineering- but I seriously doubt it. Instead, she chose to throw away a television career that many would love to have because she’s refusing to get vaccinated. Her employer, ESPN, mandated that all employees be vaccinated, aligning them with many other employers.

Ms. Williams has decided to cherry-pick anecdotal information in deciding not to get vaccinated because she and her husband want to have another child. Never mind that no data supports her fears, and whatever risks she might face pale in the face of the danger she faces from COVID-19.

She may call her decision “principled,” but it’s nothing of the sort. Instead, it’s just another example of ignorance and selfishness displayed by someone who places their narrow self-interest above the greater good. What Ms. Williams either doesn’t understand or refuses to recognize is that her decision may well have wide-ranging effects.

People may die because she refuses to be vaccinated. Indeed, SHE may perish because of her refusal.

In a statement emailed to USA TODAY Sports, ESPN declined to comment on Williams' specific situation.

"We are going through a thorough review of accommodation requests on a case by case basis, and are granting accommodations consistent with our legal obligations," the statement said. "Our focus is on a safe work environment for everyone.” 

Williams said it was hard for her to come to grips with the fact that her last game on ESPN – last season's national championship game between Alabama and Ohio State – would be her last.

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

“Paycheck over principle?” Oh, PUH-leeze, girl. That’s probably the single most arrogant, self-righteous, and just plain stupid thing anyone will read today. Ms. Williams has an opportunity to do the right thing for herself and the wider community. Instead, she’s come down on the side of arrogance, selfishness, and ignorance? Even worse, she’s framing it as “principle.”

That attitude has it all. Selfishness. Arrogance. Ignorance. White privilege. Self-righteousness. I could go on; it’s a long list.

Some- myself included- might characterize that as “natural selection”- nature looking for a time and place to prey on the weak and the stupid.

I sincerely hope that nothing untoward will happen to Ms. Williams. I hope that she and her growing family will remain safe and healthy. More than that, my sincerest wish for her is that no one she comes into contact with dies because she asymptomatically passed the coronavirus to them.

Ms. Williams says she’s “struggling to come to grips” with the fact that her career at ESPN is over, but that choice was hers and hers alone. She could have made the intelligent choice, done the right thing, and kept her career. But, sadly, she did the selfish, stupid thing and framed it as a “principled” decision.

That’s not something to shout from the rooftops. No, Ms. Williams should be held responsible for the deaths she may well cause from any asymptomatic transmission of the coronavirus to those with whom she comes into contact.

What’s that, you say? You can’t know if you’ve asymptomatically transferred the virus?

THAT’S EXACTLY MY POINT!

I can only speak for myself, but Ms. Williams’ kind of “principled” arrogance and self-absorbed stupidity makes me want to put my fist through a wall. People may well die because of her decision. She may die, yet Allison Williams is “so morally and ethically not aligned with this.“

Isn’t that just the most precious thing you’ve ever heard?

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