“Let It Go”? Inside a Former NFL Official’s Discrimination Lawsuit

At one point, according to a 32-page federal complaint, an NFL executive told a referee to join Frozen on Broadway and learn to sing “Let It Go.”

Not as a joke. As feedback.

That allegation appears in a lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York by former NFL official Robin DeLorenzo, who worked in the league from April 2022 through February 2025.

It is one of several details included in a complaint that spans twelve claims under federal and state law, all centered on alleged gender discrimination, harassment, or retaliation. The lawsuit names the NFL, along with two of DeLorenzo’s former supervisors, Walt Anderson, the former Senior Vice President of Officiating, and Byron Boston, a former NFL official, both of whom are alleged to have been directly involved in her training and evaluations.

Before getting to what she says went wrong, it’s worth noting how she got there.

DeLorenzo didn’t come out of nowhere. She spent nearly two decades working her way through the officiating pipeline, from high school to college football, eventually reaching the Big Ten and working major games. By the time she joined the NFL in 2022, she was, as the complaint states, “one of only three women in history to achieve this career pinnacle.”

And then, according to the complaint, things began to shift.

During her first season, DeLorenzo alleges she received repeated comments about her appearance, and was required to wear her hair down so that her ponytail would be visible during games.

She alleges she was provided only ill-fitting men’s uniforms, forcing her to purchase her own women’s gear, which she customized it adding NFL patches. (If only the NFL had any experience with providing customized athletic wear for individuals with very specific body types, but alas).

Her on-field experience, she claims, presented additional challenge (for example, a head referee was seen on television ignoring the flag she had thrown, and she was frequently told to “shut your f***ing mouth”); and her alleged off-field experiences were no better: she claims that at Steelers’ training camp she was made to participate in a rookie-style hazing activity that involved singing in front of players, coaches, and staff. According to the complaint, a senior NFL executive also recorded the episode against her will.

DeLorenzo alleges she filed a successful union grievance after she was directed to attend a college officiating clinic as a “training opportunity,” despite already being an NFL official. She says she pushed back, raising concerns that the clinic operated at a lower level, with different rules, mechanics, and philosophies, and questioning how it would help her at that stage of her career. She also alleges that no male NFL official had been required to attend a similar clinic.

Many of the most shocking allegations are reserved for Walt Anderson. According to the complaint, she was advised that she would be better off breaking her leg than volunteering at events when Anderson might be present; that he would terminate her if she refused the aforementioned college training; and after the 2023 season, DeLorenzo was replaced on her preferred crew by Anderson’s son. Anderson also made the comment about her appearing on Broadway, informing her that this was because her “issues were mental”.  (Less pertinent to the case, this allegation raises other questions about Anderson to which I personally would like answers: why Frozen the Broadway musical, rather than the movie with which the song is much more popularly associated? Does all his employee feedback include Broadway puns (if so, same)? What informs his apparent belief that singing live for three hours in front of two thousand people eight times a week is not mentally taxing? Does he (as it appears) think the only qualification needed to play the lead in a Broadway show is learning the main song? And, most of all, has Anderson ever actually seen Frozen? Because, if so, he seems to have fundamentally misunderstood what is, at heart, a children’s cartoon. As every 9 year old since 2013 could tell you, despite its title, the moral of Let It Go is that pretending to be unaffected by people’s cruelty and ignorance can lead to the accidental creation of a permanent winter hellscape, which, presumably, the NFL would have found to be a sub-optimal result of their officiating reviews – although, granted, if permanent winter meant 52 NFL Sundays, you could see it getting some traction at the annual owners meeting).

Anyway, the NFL has indicated that its decision to terminate DeLorenzo was based on her performance, which DeLorenzo disputes, pointing out that the grading system used to evaluate officials during her final season was subject to influence by the very supervisors about whom she had complained

The case has been assigned to Judge Analisa Torres in the Southern District of New York. Among the issues that may emerge are how performance evaluations are actually structured and applied, and whether those involved in the process can be considered sufficiently independent in light of the allegations. Cases like this often turn not just on what happened, but how consistently policies were applied.

As with any complaint, these allegations have not been proven. The NFL and the individual defendants will be required to respond, either by filing an Answer or by moving to dismiss some or all of the claims, although no deadline has been set.

Still, the filing offers a detailed account of one official’s experience in a role that very few people, and even fewer women, have ever held. At this stage, the complaint raises broader questions about how officials are trained, evaluated, and supported at the highest level of the game.

Brianna Pryce is an attorney at Kaufman Dolowich LLP. Her practice focuses on labor and employment law and she regularly handles workplace disputes in state and federal court. She has a background in criminal law and complex civil litigation.

Charles Bergin is an attorney at Kaufman Dolowich LLP. His practice focuses on labor and employment law, business litigation, and immigration law. He has a background in entertainment law, sports law, and insurance litigation. He was named a New York Metro “Rising Star” in the field of “Business Litigation” each year from 2020-2025, as a “Top Attorney In Westchester” by Westchester Magazine, and was recognized by Super Lawyers Magazine as one of the “Top Attorneys In America."