Former NBA Referee Ken Mauer Says League Forced Him Out Due to Vaccine Mandate

Ken Mauer, one of the longest-tenured NBA referees in league history, has been notably absent from games this year. In a recent podcast interview with Jason Whitlock of The Blaze, Mauer revealed that he is unvaccinated, leading the league to sideline him this season.

The National Basketball Referees Association, which represents the league’s referees, reached a collective bargaining agreement with the NBA that included a full COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Mauer, who began his NBA officiating career in 1986, says 19 of the league’s 73 referees were hesitant to receive one of the sanctioned COVID-19 vaccines, but by the start of the season, he was one of just four refs that remained unvaccinated.

“I never thought that my faith in our Lord Jesus Christ would prevent me or stop me or get in the way of me refereeing NBA basketball games. … That’s what’s happened,” Mauer said. “Not to just me, but other people.”

Mauer, who is Catholic, cited widely debunked theories that aborted fetal tissue was used in the vaccines when making his decision. 

Numerous sources, including a fact check by the Associated Press, say that aborted fetal cells are not used in Pfizer and Moderna’s mRNA vaccines. Cell lines from the kidney of a fetus, called Human Embryonic Kidney 293 (HEK293T), which was originated in the 1970s, were used in laboratory tests “associated with the vaccine program,” but had no role in the development of the mRNA vaccines themselves, which contain no human cells. 

Similar cell lines have been used to develop other vaccines, along with routine drugs that include acetaminophen, ibuprofen and aspirin, according to National Geographic.

“There are no components of fetal cells in the vaccine and none used in manufacturing,” Dr. Saahir Khan, assistant clinical professor of infectious diseases at the University of Southern California, told the AP. 

In January, Pope Francis issued his support behind COVID-19 vaccines, saying that getting vaccinated is a “moral obligation” and “an act of love.” He also denounced “baseless information” that has led many to avoid receiving the shots.

Mauer is the third-longest tenured referee in league history, behind Dick Bavetta and Joey Crawford, who each worked for 39 seasons. He told Whitlock that he plans to pass the pair if he can referee in the league again.