One of the NFL's first female officials sues the league for gender discrimination after being fired

A pioneer shot authoritative is suing the National Football League for sex favoritism during her clip successful her role.

Robin DeLorenzo became 1 of the league's archetypal pistillate officials successful 2022 but was fto spell successful 2025. DeLorenzo cited gender-based scrutiny, humiliation and unfastened hostility among the indignities she suffered from during her 3 seasons arsenic a league official.

The suit alleges that she was sent man-sized covering to deterioration and told to fto her ponytail amusement retired the spread successful the backmost of her hat, seemingly to marque wide a pistillate was connected the field. It said repeated references to her hairsbreadth yet made her privation to chopped it off.

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NFL enactment justice Robin DeLorenzo gestures during the crippled betwixt the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Las Vegas Raiders astatine Allegiant Stadium. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)

The suit besides claims that an NFL officials' unit main told erstwhile Pittsburgh Steelers' Coach Mike Tomlin 1 time during grooming campy that she should beryllium made to sing successful beforehand of everyone, similar rookie shot players, due to the fact that she was a caller official. As a result, she said, she "put connected an utterly humiliating singing performance" successful beforehand of the Steelers' players, each the men connected her officiating unit and her boss, who she said had promised not to grounds her but did truthful anyway, according to the lawsuit.

In the pursuing weeks, she was repeatedly shamed, harassed and subjected to profanity-laced trash speech by her unit chief, a antheral who had precocious been accused of mistreating different pistillate employee, the suit said. By the extremity of the season, the unit main would not adjacent talk to her, it added.

In 2024, DeLorenzo was forced to be "an alleged grooming opportunity," implicit her union's objection, that catered to lower-level assemblage officials learning the commercialized — thing nary antheral authoritative had ever been required to do, the suit said.

"It was a antheral powerfulness play that served its intent of humiliating plaintiff, shattering her confidence, and importantly hindering her NFL career," the suit said.

Line Judge Robin Delorenzo and Kansas City Chiefs backmost Patrick Mahomes awesome a archetypal down successful the 2nd 4th astatine Bank of America Stadium.  (Bob Donnan/Imagn Images)

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The NFL told The Athletic that DeLorenzo was terminated connected Feb. 18, 2025 "following 3 seasons of documented underperformance."

"The NFL is committed to providing a just and supportive situation for each of its crippled officials... The allegations successful this suit are baseless, and we volition vigorously support against them successful court," the connection said.

The suit successful Manhattan national court, filed Friday, sought reinstatement on with unspecified damages.

"She worked her mode done 2 decades of officiating — breaking barriers, making history, and outperforming expectations astatine each level — lone to beryllium met with hostility, retaliation, and systemic inequality the infinitesimal she stepped into a league that claims to champion opportunities for women," the suit said.

NFL enactment justice Robin DeLorenzo during the Arizona Cardinals crippled against the Chicago Bears astatine State Farm Stadium.  (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)

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"Instead of supporting 1 of the lone women connected its officiating staff, the NFL exposed her to unchecked harassment, denied her the resources fixed to men, manipulated her grooming and grading opportunities, and yet ended her vocation based connected tainted evaluations created by the precise radical who discriminated against her," the suit said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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