A groundbreaking female NFL referee has filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against the league, alleging she endured years of gender-based mistreatment before losing her job last month.
Robin DeLorenzo, who made history as one of the first three women to referee NFL games, filed the complaint in Manhattan federal court on Friday. She claims the league subjected her to discriminatory scrutiny, harassment, and hostile treatment throughout her tenure from 2022 to 2025.
The legal action seeks her reinstatement as an official plus unspecified monetary damages. Neither the NFL nor the NFL Referees Association responded immediately to requests for comment.
DeLorenzo’s journey to professional football began with encouragement from her father, who helped guide her through high school and college officiating ranks. In a 2023 NFL.com interview, she recalled the emotional moment when the league’s senior vice president of officiating allowed her father to share the promotion news.
“Once he gave me the news, my dad and I just stared at each other crying for about five minutes,” DeLorenzo told NFL.com. “It was the most magical night.”
However, the lawsuit paints a starkly different picture of her NFL experience. The longtime New Jersey resident claims problems began immediately when she received men’s uniforms and was instructed to display her ponytail through her hat’s back opening, apparently to emphasize her gender on the field. The constant focus on her appearance eventually made her consider cutting her hair, according to court documents.
The legal filing details a particularly embarrassing incident during training camp when a crew chief allegedly told then-Pittsburgh Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin that DeLorenzo should perform like rookie players by singing publicly. The lawsuit states she was forced to give what she called “an utterly humiliating singing performance” before Steelers players, her male colleagues, and supervisors who recorded the event despite promising not to.
Court papers allege that her crew chief, who had previously faced accusations of mistreating another female employee, continued harassing her with profanity and inappropriate comments throughout the following weeks. By season’s end, he reportedly refused to communicate with her at all.
In 2024, despite union objections, DeLorenzo was required to participate in training designed for entry-level college officials – a mandate never imposed on male referees, the lawsuit claims.
“It was a male power play that served its purpose of humiliating plaintiff, shattering her confidence, and significantly hindering her NFL career,” the legal document states.
The league terminated DeLorenzo’s employment on February 18, 2025.
Her legal team argues she spent two decades climbing the officiating ladder, “breaking barriers, making history, and outperforming expectations at every level” only to encounter “hostility, retaliation, and systemic inequality” in a league that publicly promotes women’s opportunities.
The lawsuit contends that rather than supporting one of its few female officials, the NFL allowed “unchecked harassment,” provided unequal resources compared to men, and manipulated her training and evaluation processes before ending her career based on assessments from those who allegedly discriminated against her.
According to the filing, the damage to DeLorenzo’s career cannot be undone, while the emotional and professional harm she suffered has been enormous.
