TAMPA BAY, Florida (LifeSiteNews) — An NFL team in Florida has been rebuked by the state’s Department of Health for a job description that says hires must get jabbed against COVID.
Florida law prohibits both private and public COVID vaccine mandates by requiring numerous exemptions that must be recognized by employers.
“This is against Florida law,” Department of Health (DOH) spokesman Jeremy Redfern tweeted on Monday at Jason Turner, a production manager for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
This is against Florida law. pic.twitter.com/1xSYfc6jbC
— Jeremy Redfern (@JeremyRedfernFL) June 14, 2022
“COVID-19 vaccine mandates related to private employers are enforced by the Attorney General’s office,” Redfern told LifeSiteNews. He said individuals can file complaints about vaccine mandates.
READ: Double-vaccinated and double-boosted Fauci tests positive for COVID
Redfern deferred to the AG’s office when asked if the state could open investigations on its own.
A spokesperson for the attorney general’s office reached by phone on Thursday directed LifeSiteNews to another spokesperson who did not immediately return an emailed request for comment Thursday. However, the AG’s office includes information on how to file complaints against vaccine mandates.
“All new hires are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and provide verification of vaccination prior to the commencement of employment,” a job listing shared by Turner on Monday for a video production intern stated. “Fully vaccinated means at least two (2) weeks after the final dose of the J&J, Moderna, or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.”
Looking to work with the best Production Krewe in the NFL? Well, here’s your chance! pic.twitter.com/fj705dg9f3
— Jason Turner (@JasonJ_Turner) June 13, 2022
LifeSiteNews contacted Nelson Luis and Michael Pehanich, communications directors for the Buccaneers, to ask about the legality of the mandate for this position and any others and if an attorney in the organization had informed them the team was exempt from the law. Pehanich’s email on Wednesday morning said he was out of the office, and Luis did not respond.
The team does not list a jab requirement in all its job postings. Two jobs listed in June do not include language about the COVID vaccines, while a “Club Access Control” job listed on May 18 says that the jabs are required.
Florida recently succeeded in stopping the Special Olympics from instituting a coercive vaccine requirement on its athletes.
“Florida will always be welcoming to all of our athletes with disabilities, regardless of COVID vaccination status,” Gov. DeSantis stated on June 3, before the Special Olympics kicked off in Orlando on June 6. “Special Olympics International should have never imposed a vaccine mandate on their athletes. Special Olympians who were in limbo for months will now be able to compete in Florida thanks to our continued actions to keep Floridians’ medical decisions private.”
There have been more than 1.2 million injuries reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) through June 3, according to an analysis from Children’s Health Defense.
“The data included a total of 28,532 reports of deaths — an increase of 220 over the previous week — and 235,041 serious injuries, including deaths, during the same time period — up 2,347 compared with the previous week,” Children’s Health Defense reported.
READ: Florida becomes only US state to not pre-order COVID shots for infants and young children
Concerns about heart problems from the COVID shots led Food and Drug Administration vaccine advisor Dr. Doran Fink to warn last year about the dangers for young men who get jabbed.
Dr. Fink said at a September 2021 vaccine safety committee meeting that men under 40 are at greater risk of hospitalization from COVID shots than the virus itself, due to reactions such as myocarditis.