One of only three female NFL officials ever alleges the league set her up to fail
A former NFL official alleges the league's celebrated DEI commitments collapsed the moment she actually needed them.
Robin DeLorenzo, one of only three women in history to officiate on an NFL field, filed suit on March 27 in the Southern District of New York (DeLorenzo v. National Football League et al., Case No. 1:26-cv-02546), naming the league, its former Senior Vice President of Officiating Walter Anderson, and her assigned trainer Byron Boston as defendants.
DeLorenzo worked as an NFL official from April 2022 through February 2025. What she encountered across those three seasons, according to the filing, reads less like a professional development track and more like a cautionary tale in how organizations can fail the very people their diversity programs are meant to protect.
The allegations begin early. At her first mini-camp in Houston, Anderson allegedly directed DeLorenzo to wear her hair in a ponytail so she would appear more visibly female on the field. When she pushed back and later raised the issue through an NFL-retained communication specialist, Anderson allegedly kept pressing.
She was placed in her rookie season on the crew of John Hussey, who, according to the filing, had recently been accused of mistreating another female employee. DeLorenzo alleges Hussey subjected her to repeated verbal abuse and aggressive hand gestures, and by season's end, refused to speak to her entirely. She reported the conduct through the communication specialist, who reported directly to Anderson.
Then there was the gear. The NFL allegedly never provided DeLorenzo with properly fitting uniforms during her entire tenure. She alleges she had to buy her own women's clothing and iron NFL shield patches onto it, while every male official received standard-issue equipment.
Before her third season, Anderson and Boston allegedly required DeLorenzo to attend a college-level officiating clinic in Arkansas, one that involved different rules, different mechanics, and had no connection to NFL officiating. According to the filing, no male official had ever been asked to do the same. Her union filed a grievance over the assignment and prevailed.
For HR leaders, this may be the most telling thread: DeLorenzo alleges the performance evaluation system across all three seasons was controlled or heavily influenced by Anderson, and that her grades were applied more harshly than those of her male counterparts. Even after Anderson stepped down before the 2024 season, many of the same evaluators — men with close ties to him — allegedly remained in place.
On February 18, 2025, DeLorenzo was terminated. The termination letter, she alleges, cited her performance across all three seasons — the same period during which she says she was being discriminated against, harassed, and punished for speaking up.
The case raises twelve causes of action under federal, New York state and city, and New Jersey anti-discrimination laws. DeLorenzo is seeking reinstatement, compensatory and punitive damages, and back pay.
The allegations surface a question HR professionals know well: what happens when an organization's public commitment to inclusion outpaces the internal systems meant to back it up?
No determination has been made on the merits of the case.
