Nationals VP Bob Boone Resigns Over Team's COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

Bob Boone, the Washington Nationals' longtime vice president and senior adviser to general manager Mike Rizzo, will leave the organization following his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine.

The Nationals mandated vaccines for all non-playing employees Aug. 14 and gave them until Sept. 15 to comply. Boone, 73, is one of an undisclosed number of employees to part ways with the team as a result.

Two scouts have also been told their contracts will not be renewed because of their vaccination status. More staff changes are expected, according to Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post.

A catcher with the Philadelphia Phillies, California Angels and Kansas City Royals from 1972 to 1990, Boone has remained in baseball since his playing days ended. He managed the Royals from 1995 to 1997 and did the same for the Cincinnati Reds from 2001 to 2003.

The four-time All-Star and seven-time Gold Glove Award winner joined the Nationals in 2005 when the team relocated to Washington, D.C., from Montreal. He's the father of New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone—who himself has taken the vaccine and encouraged his players to do the same—and former player Bret Boone.

Per Dougherty:

"The vaccine mandate applies to salaried and hourly employees on the coaching staff, in the baseball operations department, or working in the stadium, ticketing, business or in-game entertainment, among others. '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 Nationals said a statement in August."

The Houston Astros have also mandated vaccines for all non-playing employees.

Players will not be subjected to the directive unless it is agreed upon by Major League Baseball and the Players Association.