Yankee Stadium Waitress Files Lawsuit Against NYC Mayor Eric Adams Over Athlete Vaccine Exemption

A longtime Yankee Stadium waitress filed a lawsuit against New York City Mayor Eric Adams Friday, seeking to overturn the vaccine exemption for pro athletes.

Per the New York Post, Virginia Alleyne has called the vaccine exemption an "abuse of discretion."

“For him to allow millionaires to work and to punish the workers who are the lifeblood of this city is just horrendous,” Alleyne said. “So many workers have lost their jobs, yet he’s rewarding the millionaires because he doesn’t want them coming after him. We are being punished by a blatant and egregious double standard.”

Alleyne, 57, is a single mom who was placed on unpaid leave from her job at the stadium's high-end restaurant Legends Suite Club in September, after choosing not to get vaccinated. Alleyne told the Post that she has remained unvaccinated for religious reasons. She is not seeking any lost wages.

And while Alleyne was not permitted to go to work the Yankees' Opening Day matchup with Red Sox Friday, nearly 50,000 fans, regardless of vaccination status, were permitted to enter through the turnstiles. Chalk that one under "things that don't make sense for $500."

Adams, meanwhile, has taken a lot of heat in the last couple of weeks since he created a vaccine exemption for performers and athletes in the city. That meant that Nets guard Kyrie Irving was now allowed to play in home games at the Barclays center and any unvaccinated Mets and Yankees players could play in home games at Citi Field and Yankee Stadium respectively.

While it's great to see athletes in the prime of their lives with COVID-19 at virtually no harm back on the court/field, it's despicable that the thousands of others are still restricted from making a living. It's nonsensical and frankly, reeks of Adams staying up on his high horse.

That continues to leave everyday unvaccinated workers like Alleyne within the private-sector, barred from going to work. Even after 17 years of working at Legends, she finds herself struggling to make a living and take care of her 15-year-old autistic son.

“I was literally begging for my job and I knew I am not going to be able to take care of my son,” Alleyne said. “I’ve been struggling. I can barely make ends meet. Everybody else folded. Everyone chose to make money. I chose to starve because of the principle.”