She spent two decades breaking barriers before her career with the NFL came to a sudden end, but her lawsuit alleges a disturbing league ‘power play’

Robin DeLorenzo, one of the first women to ever officiate an NFL game, has filed a discrimination lawsuit against the league, alleging a pattern of sexism and hostility over a three-year period. According to Daily Mail, the lawsuit, launched in Manhattan federal court, seeks her reinstatement along with unspecified damages. This is a pretty big deal, especially for someone who’s spent two decades climbing the ranks in a male-dominated field.

DeLorenzo’s journey to the NFL was quite inspiring, starting with her father’s encouragement through high school and college officiating. She even described her promotion as “the most magical night,” recounting how she and her dad just stared at each other, crying for about five minutes after the news broke. It sounds like a dream come true for any dedicated official.

DeLorenzo says she immediately faced gender-based scrutiny and humiliation. Right off the bat, she was sent man-sized clothing and instructed to let her ponytail show out the back of her hat, which the lawsuit suggests was to make it obvious a woman was on the field. The constant remarks about her hair eventually made her want to cut it off. You’d think the focus would be on her officiating skills, not her appearance.

That ‘dream job’ didn’t stay dreamy for long

The lawsuit details several disturbing incidents. One moment stands out: an NFL officials’ crew chief allegedly told then-Pittsburgh Steelers’ Coach Mike Tomlin during a training camp that DeLorenzo, as a new official, should have to sing in front of everyone, like rookie football players. As a result, she “put on an utterly humiliating singing performance” for the Steelers’ players, all the men on her officiating crew, and her boss. Worse still, she claims her boss, who promised not to record her, did so anyway.

In the weeks that followed, DeLorenzo says she endured repeated shaming, harassment, and profanity-laced trash talk from this same crew chief. The league has previously seen allegations of coach taking advantage of young female employee, showing that DeLorenzo’s claims are part of a larger, troubling trend. By the end of that season, the crew chief allegedly wouldn’t even speak to her.

Things didn’t improve in 2024. The lawsuit alleges that DeLorenzo was forced to attend a “training opportunity” that catered to lower-level college officials, something her union objected to and no male official had ever been required to do. The lawsuit bluntly called it “a male power play that served its purpose of humiliating plaintiff, shattering her confidence, and significantly hindering her NFL career.”

Ultimately, DeLorenzo was fired on February 18, 2025. The lawsuit argues that she worked her way through two decades of officiating by breaking barriers, making history, and outperforming expectations at every level. She was then met with hostility, retaliation, and systemic inequality the moment she stepped into a league that claims to champion opportunities for women.

It goes on to state that instead of supporting her, 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.” On the other side, the NFL is pushing back. Brian McCarthy, an NFL spokesperson, stated that DeLorenzo was terminated after three seasons of documented underperformance.

“The allegations in this lawsuit are baseless, and we will vigorously defend against them in court,” McCarthy said.