Robin DeLorenzo climbed the officiating ladder for more than twenty years before the National Football League came calling.
In April 2022, DeLorenzo joined the NFL as a game official, becoming one of only three women in history to ever hold that position.
Three seasons later, on February 18, 2025, the NFL cut her loose.
On March 27, 2026, DeLorenzo struck back — filing a federal lawsuit against the league in the Southern District of New York. The case, DeLorenzo v. National Football League et al., carries the case number 1:26-cv-02546.
The complaint does not target the NFL alone. Former Senior Vice President of Officiating Walter Anderson and former official and assigned trainer Byron Boston are also named as defendants.
Twelve separate causes of action appear in the filing, spanning gender discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, along with civil rights statutes from New York State, New York City, and New Jersey.
Trouble, according to the complaint, started almost immediately. At DeLorenzo’s very first mini-camp in Houston, Anderson allegedly instructed her to pull her hair into a ponytail through the back of her cap — the stated purpose being to signal to everyone watching that a woman was standing on the field.
DeLorenzo brought the directive to crew chief John Hussey. His alleged response shut the conversation down fast: “Who do you think you are? You are to listen to your boss. . . . Are you crazy?”
The equipment situation painted an equally troubling picture. The lawsuit claims the NFL outfitted DeLorenzo in men’s-sized gear rather than clothing that fit. She eventually bought her own and ironed an NFL shield patch onto it. When weather turned rough, male officials reportedly received jackets and protective apparel. DeLorenzo, the suit alleges, did not.
Then came the Pittsburgh Steelers training camp. A crew chief approached then-head coach Mike Tomlin with a suggestion — DeLorenzo should perform a song in front of the group, the same tradition imposed on rookie players. She went through with it.
What followed was, in the lawsuit’s own words, an “utterly humiliating singing performance” staged before Steelers players, the team’s coaching staff, every man on her officiating crew, and her direct supervisor. That supervisor, the suit claims, had promised not to record her. He recorded her anyway.
The harassment did not stop when camp ended. The lawsuit describes the weeks that followed as a sustained campaign of profanity-laced degradation led by her crew chief — a man the complaint says had previously been accused of mistreating another female employee. Before the season closed, that same crew chief had stopped speaking to DeLorenzo entirely.
The following year brought a new indignity. In 2024, the NFL required DeLorenzo to attend what the lawsuit labeled “an alleged training opportunity” — a session built for lower-level college officials still learning the basics. Her union objected. The NFL proceeded anyway. No male NFL official had ever been sent to such a session, according to the filing.
“It was a male power play that served its purpose of humiliating plaintiff, shattering her confidence, and significantly hindering her NFL career,” the lawsuit stated.
DeLorenzo’s legal team, attorneys Anne L. Clark and Emily Bass of Vladeck, Raskin & Clark, argue the performance reviews used to justify her firing were themselves tainted — produced by the same individuals the lawsuit accuses of engineering her mistreatment.
“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 complaint states.
Attorney Krista DiMercurio told Football Zebras: “Season one really set the stage for what was to come, and that’s kind of the theme here.”
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The NFL did not waver in its response to The Athletic.
“The NFL is committed to providing a fair and supportive environment for all of its game officials,” NFL Vice President of Communications Brian McCarthy said in a statement.
“Ms. DeLorenzo was terminated following three seasons of documented underperformance. The allegations in this lawsuit are baseless, and we will vigorously defend against them in court.”
The case now sits before U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres. DeLorenzo is asking the court for reinstatement and unspecified financial damages.
