Veteran NBA Referee Fired For Refusing to Violate Religious Beliefs
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Veteran NBA referee Kenny Mauer blew the whistle for nearly four decades. Then, he says, the league blew the whistle on him.
Mauer, one of the most respected and tenured officials in NBA history, was fired after refusing to take the China Virus shot because of his devout Catholic faith, according to his attorneys. Now First Liberty Institute has joined his legal fight, accusing the NBA of punishing a man of faith while giving players a pass.
Mauer told national radio host Todd Starnes on the Todd Starnes Radio Show that the controversy began in 2021 after referees had already followed league protocols during the pandemic.
“During the playoffs, Todd, in 2021, the summer of 2021, I tested as much as four times a day,” Mauer said. “So, you know, we understood that there was, you know, there was this COVID outbreak, whatever, and that we had to do our part. So there was never a problem.”
But Mauer said everything changed when the NBA altered the final year of the referees’ contract and mandated the shot.
“Then in the summer, 21 comes along and the NBA decided to change the last year of our contract and mandates that if we do not take the vaccine, that we will lose our jobs,” he told Starnes. “I had the decision to make, and that was either I continued to work for an employer that was questioning my God-given faith, and so it was easy for my wife and I at that time. We chose our faith over my job.”
First Liberty said Mauer officiated for the NBA for 36 years, beginning in the 1986-87 season, and by the time he was dismissed he was the third-longest tenured referee in league history. The organization said Mauer, a practicing Catholic for more than 60 years, requested a religious exemption that was denied after NBA management “questioned and doubted the sincerity of his faith.”
That, Mauer suggested, was especially outrageous because NBA players were not subject to the same mandate. Reuters reported in 2021 that the NBA would exempt players from a vaccine mandate while referees and most staff were required to comply.
“The NBA players were never mandated to take the vaccine,” Mauer told Starnes. “So when they opened up the arenas and the people came back into the arena, they were never, never mandated to take it, the players were never mandated, to take.”
“It’s just the three referees out on the floor who blew a whistle for a living,” he added. “If they didn’t take the vaccine, they lost their jobs.”
Mauer said his faith was never a secret, but neither had it been an issue during nearly 40 years with the league.
“I was born a Catholic. I was baptized. I’ve received my confirmation, my communion. I have been part of the Catholic Church for, you know, my entire life,” he said. “I’m a Christian who believes in our Lord Jesus Christ, and I’m not afraid to admit it, and I’m not afraid to talk about it.”
Cliff Martin, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute, told Starnes the league failed Mauer.
“The [NBA] clearly failed to accommodate Kenny’s religious practice,” Martin said. “He notified them of, you know, his religious belief. And instead of respecting that and accommodating his religious beliefs, instead they terminated him.”
Martin also pointed to the Supreme Court’s Groff v. DeJoy decision, a First Liberty case that strengthened protections for workers seeking religious accommodations.
“Employers… must be able to prove an undue hardship to deny a religious accommodation,” Martin said. “And undue hardship means a substantial increased cost to the business.”
First Liberty’s own public statement was even more blunt.
“In a moment when it could have showed its commitment to religious freedom, the NBA fouled out,” Martin said.
The lawsuit, filed by Mauer and other former referees, alleges violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, as well as New York state and city human rights laws. Bloomberg Law reported that the lawsuit accused the NBA of firing longtime referees after denying religious exemption requests. Sports Litigation Alert reported in January 2026 that the underlying religious discrimination claims had not been decided in a sealing-related ruling.
Mauer told Starnes the case is about something much bigger than basketball.
“This isn’t about the vaccine,” he said. “This is about allowing us to have our God-given rights. To be able to take part in whatever faith we want. And that’s what I’m fighting for.”