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A pioneering female soccer official is suing the National Football League for gender discrimination during her time in office.
Robin DeLorenzo became one of the league’s first female managers in 2022, but was fired in 2025. DeLorenzo cited gender scrutiny, humiliation and outright hostility among the indignities she suffered during her three seasons as the league’s manager.
The lawsuit alleges that she was sent men’s sized clothing and told to let her ponytail show the hole in the back of her hat, apparently to make it clear that there was a woman in the field. She said the repeated references to her hair eventually made her want to cut it off.
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NFL linesman Robin DeLorenzo gestures during the game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium. (Kirby Lee/Image Images)
The lawsuit also claims that an NFL officiating crew chief told former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin one day during training camp that they should make her sing in front of everyone, like rookie football players, because she was a new official. As a result, she said, she “performed an absolutely humiliating singing performance” in front of the Steelers players, all the men on her officiating crew and her boss, who she claimed had promised not to record her but did so anyway, according to the lawsuit.
In the weeks that followed, her team leader, a man who had recently been accused of mistreating another employee, repeatedly embarrassed, harassed and subjected her to profanity-laced trash talking, according to the lawsuit. At the end of the season, the crew chief wouldn’t even talk to her, she added.
In 2024, DeLorenzo was forced to attend “a purported training opportunity,” despite the objection of her union, which catered to lower-level university officials learning the trade, something no male officials had been required to do, according to the lawsuit.
“It was a male power play that served its purpose of humiliating Plaintiff, shattering her confidence, and significantly hindering her NFL career,” the lawsuit says.
Line judge Robin Delorenzo and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes signal a first down in the second quarter at Bank of America Stadium. (Bob Donnan/Image Images)
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The NFL told The Athletic that DeLorenzo was fired on Feb. 18, 2025 “after 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 fought her way through two decades of officiating, breaking barriers, making history and exceeding expectations at every level, only to be met with hostility, retaliation and systemic inequality the moment she entered a league that claims to champion opportunities for women,” the lawsuit says.
NFL linesman Robin DeLorenzo during the Arizona Cardinals game against the Chicago Bears at State Farm Stadium. (Mark J. Rebilas/Imagn Images)
“Instead of supporting one of the only women on its officiating staff, the NFL exposed her to unchecked harassment, denied her resources afforded to men, manipulated her training and grading opportunities, and ultimately ended her career based on tainted evaluations created by the same people who discriminated against her,” the lawsuit says.
