A pioneer football official is suing the National Football League for gender discrimination during her time in her role.
Robin DeLorenzo became one of the league's first female officials in 2022 but was let go in 2025. DeLorenzo cited gender-based scrutiny, humiliation and open hostility among the indignities she suffered from during her three seasons as a league official.
The lawsuit alleges that she was sent man-sized clothing to wear and told to let her ponytail show out the hole in the back of her hat, apparently to make clear a woman was on the field. It said repeated references to her hair eventually made her want to cut it off.
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The lawsuit also claims that an NFL officials' crew chief told former Pittsburgh Steelers' Coach Mike Tomlin one day during training camp that she should be made to sing in front of everyone, like rookie football players, because she was a new official. As a result, she said, she "put on an utterly humiliating singing performance" in front of the Steelers' players, all the men on her officiating crew and her boss, who she said had promised not to record her but did so anyway, according to the lawsuit.
In the following weeks, she was repeatedly shamed, harassed and subjected to profanity-laced trash talk by her crew chief, a man who had recently been accused of mistreating another female employee, the lawsuit said. By the end of the season, the crew chief would not even speak to her, it added.
In 2024, DeLorenzo was forced to attend "an alleged training opportunity," over her union's objection, that catered to lower-level college officials learning the trade — something no male official had ever been required to do, the lawsuit said.
"It was a male power play that served its purpose of humiliating plaintiff, shattering her confidence, and significantly hindering her NFL career," the lawsuit said.
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The NFL told The Athletic that DeLorenzo was terminated on Feb. 18, 2025 "following three seasons of documented underperformance."
"The NFL is committed to providing a fair and supportive environment for all of its game officials... The allegations in this lawsuit are baseless, and we will vigorously defend against them in court," the statement said.
The lawsuit in Manhattan federal court, filed Friday, sought reinstatement along with unspecified damages.
"She worked her way through two decades of officiating — breaking barriers, making history, and outperforming expectations at every level — only to be met with hostility, retaliation, and systemic inequality the moment she stepped into a league that claims to champion opportunities for women," the lawsuit said.
"Instead of supporting one of the only women on its officiating staff, the NFL exposed her to unchecked harassment, denied her the resources given to men, manipulated her training and grading opportunities, and ultimately ended her career based on tainted evaluations created by the very people who discriminated against her," the lawsuit said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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