Washington Nationals VP Resigns, Citing Vaccine Requirement

Washington Nationals stadium
Photo by Sung Shin on Unsplash

Washington Nationals vice president Bob Boone has announced his decision to resign from his position at the franchise. This comes after Boone decided that he did not agree with the team’s policy requiring all non-uniformed employees to undergo a COVID-19 vaccination. Boone has, however, been vaccinated against COVID-19.

In the wake of Boone’s departure, the Washington Nationals released the following statement in support of its vaccine mandate: “As a company, we have a responsibility to do everything we can to keep one another safe and felt that mandating vaccines was the absolute right thing to do for our employees and our community.”

The 73-year-old Boone has been a member of the Washington Nationals organization since 2005, serving in multiple positions including assistant GM and senior adviser to general manager Mike Rizzo. He also filled the position of vice president of player development from 2006 to 2013.

The Nationals were one of the first teams in the MLB to require non-playing, full-time employees to be inoculated against COVID-19. The policy, which went into effect on August 12, required employees to meet an August 26 deadline to either provide proof of a first shot or apply for an extension.