'I may have lost my job, but I preserved my integrity': Good Morning Mississippi news anchor is fired after 14 years because she REFUSED to get the COVID vaccine
A longtime Mississippi news anchor has been ousted from her job after refusing to get the COVID vaccine.
Last Thursday, Meggan Gray, 40, signed off from Good Morning Mississippi by saying she wanted 'to take a moment and let you know that I honestly do not know what the future holds for me as far as my career here at WLOX.
'And I just felt that I owed it to you... to take a moment while I had an opportunity to say thank you for allowing me into your homes for the past several years,' she said, visibly choking up as she spoke.
'I've had a wonderful 18 year career here, and I'm very grateful for every moment of it. Thank you so much.'
The next day, for the first time in 14 years, she was not featured behind the anchor's desk.
She took to Facebook to explain that she was terminated from her job because she refused to comply with a mandate by WLOX's parent company, Gray Television, that requires all staff members, contractors and visitors be fully vaccinated by October 1.
In her final episode of Good Morning Mississippi last Thursday, Meggan Gray, center, told viewers she 'I honestly do not know what the future holds for me as far as my career here at WLOX' and thanked the viewers for their support over the years
'My father has always taught me: Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching,' she wrote on Friday. 'I've always lived by it, but in this particular instance, there are a lot of people watching.
'That's why I feel compelled to relay the truth and explain why you won't be seeing me anymore on WLOX,' she continued. 'I am not vaccinated and therefore, I am no longer eligible for employment with Gray Television or any of their stations.
'Before I go any further, let me make it clear - I'm not here to spark debate over the vaccine,' Meggan said. 'I respect an individual's decision to get vaccinated.
'I believe one of the greatest things about being an American is enjoying certain rights, including those pertaining to personal health decisions,' she said, adding: 'Before GrayTV mandated this vaccination policy, I made an informed and prayerful decision not to get the vaccine.'
She said she 'already survived a case of COVID-19' and 'there are other, more powerful reasons that led to my personal decision,' though she did not go into detail about those reasons.
'I know there will be people who disagree with me or do not understand my reasons,' she noted. 'That is fully understandable because that is a protected right they enjoy.
'Moreover, it is a personal decision for each American; but in my opinion, a forced decision to decide between a vaccination and the livelihood of an individual is a dangerous precedent.
'Unfortunately, because of my decision about vaccination, I faced termination.
'The decision was difficult because I knew it would impact me and my family,' Meggan wrote. 'My choices were either I follow the mandate, or I lose my career at WLOX.
'Please know, I tried everything possible to keep my job, including offering to be tested on a weekly basis.
'My requests were denied,' she said.
'It hurts saying goodbye; it hurts parting on these terms,' Meggan concluded in the Facebook post on Friday. 'However, I know in my heart it is the right decision for me and my family.
'I may have lost my job, but I preserved my integrity.'
Meggan has worked for WLOX since 2003, starting as a morning tape editor, before becoming a full-time reporter in the fall of 2006 and a co-anchor in January 2007, according to her biography on the WLOX website.
Gray, 40, has worked for WLOX since 2003, starting as a morning tape editor, before becoming a full-time reporter in the fall of 2006 and a co-anchor in January 2007
She said in a Facebook post that she will miss working at the station
She explained that she was terminated from her job due to her decision not to get a COVID vaccine, like the one seen here, despite WLOX's parent company mandating that all employees get the jab
She explained her decision not to get vaccinated in a Facebook post on Friday
Her post on Friday echoed some from other GrayTV staff members across the country. The Atlanta, Georgia-based media company owns nearly 150 network affiliates, and announced on August 16 that it would start mandating its employees, contractors and visitors be fully vaccinated starting on October 1.
In its announcement, company executives said the 'COVID-19 public health crisis is getting worse in too many communities across the country,' and that vaccines 'are extremely effective in preventing serious illness and reducing the spread of the coronavirus,' according to the Washington Post.
It continued to say that managers and executives 'unanimously concluded that the increasingly rapid spread of the coronavirus poses an unfair risk' to employees and their families.
Since then, two other well-known staff members announced that they were terminated.
On September 15, Karl Bohnak, a 33-year meteorologist at Michigan's WLUC announced his termination on Facebook, writing: 'Since I chose not to take one of the shots, I was fired.
'Many of you have taken one of those injections and that is absolutely your right.
'It is also my right to choose the medical options I feel are right for me.
'I have authority over my body,' he said, noting that he thinks the vaccine mandates were causing the country to 'be bludgeoned with fear, I believe, in an effort to control us.
'I just wanted to go about my business "live and let live" and keep my mouth shut,' he wrote. 'But this act by the federal government though corporate America has brought me to a crossroads.
'Our way of life, our freedom, our liberty, is collapsing before our eyes.'
He then thanked the viewers who watched him over the years, and urged other unvaccinated people not to be silent about the mandatory vaccination policies.
'Those who love America and the freedom and liberty it stands for must speak up,' Bohnak said. 'Hopefully, it's not too late.'
Then, also on Friday, Linda Simmons, a 14-year reporter at Missouri's KY3 cited religious reasons for not getting the vaccine, despite GrayTV's mandate.
'I value the freedom we all have to make our own informed decisions,' she wrote on Facebook. 'I've made a big decision and decided not to allow the company that owns KY3, Gray Television to control my personal health choices.
'I did not comply with their vaccine mandate after my exemption request was denied,' she said, noting that she tried to get a religious exemption.
'I will miss you all, and I am sad to be leaving this way, but I have confidence that I am doing Gods will for me. I trust that He has good plans in store.'
In a statement to the Washington Post, Kevin P. Latek, the executive vice president and chief legal officer for Gray Television said the company does not comment on personnel issues, but noted that more than 1,000 employees chose to receive a vaccine after the policy was announced.
Still, the company told the Biloxi Sun Herald, it had to 'terminate the employment of a very small portion of our workforce who declined to get vaccinated and/or who requested an exemption that could not be accommodated without imposing an undue hardship on the business or their coworkers.
'We are grateful for these individuals' contribution to our company and we wish them well,' the statement continued. 'We have also informed them that they are welcome to re-apply for positions with Gray if they do decide in the future to become fully vaccinated against COVID-19.'
Other Gray Television employees at stations throughout the country, like WLUC meteorologist Karl Bohnak, and KY3 reporter Linda Simmons, were also ousted due to their decision not to get vaccinated
Gray Television is just one of many companies now requiring that their employees be vaccinated, including Disney, Facebook, Google, United Airlines and Walmart.
Then, in September, President Joe Biden said he would require government workers and businesses with more than 100 employees to institute mandatory vaccinations or coronavirus testing protocols.
As of Wednesday, about 65 percent of all Americans had received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control, and about 56 percent are fully vaccinated.
The CDC maintains that those who are unvaccinated are more than 10 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID and 11 times more likely to die from it.
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