A gay former employee of the Pittsburgh Steelers is suing the NFL team for alleged sexist and anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination.

As The Advocate reports, Chelsea Zahn filed a lawsuit against the Steelers last week, claiming she experienced “multiple incidents of discrimination and a hostile work environment” based on both her sex and sexual orientation while she was employed by the team from 2013 to 2024.

Related

NFL’s first out trans cheerleader says she was fired for being trans just after Trump was elected

According to the January 13 complaint, the Steelers violated Zahn’s constitutional right “to be free from illegal, invidious and damaging discrimination in her employment” under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1991, and the Equal Pay Act.

“Pittsburgh is Steelers town. We are very proud of our team,” Zahn’s attorney Joel Sansone, told The Advocate. “We can’t have them treating our citizens like this simply because they’re different.”

Never Miss a Beat

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights.
Subscribe to our Newsletter today

Zahn alleges that the Steelers paid female employees less than their male counter parts for the same or similar work during her time with the team. She claims that prior to her promotion to corporate sales manager in 2022, she was denied promotions twice and told that she was “too young” and lacked experience, while less qualified and less experienced male employees were promoted instead. When she was promoted, Zahn alleges she was offered a lower salary than her male colleagues.  

According to the complaint, Zahn’s co-workers became aware that she is gay after she was promoted in 2022, and she alleges that she was consequently treated less favorably than her straight male colleagues. She claims her superiors made her cover for straight male co-worker at work events and was told to do so because she did not have children. She alleges that this treatment “was motivated by the fact that Plaintiff does not conform to the gender stereotypes of a heterosexual woman.”

Zahn resigned from her role with the Steelers in September 2024. Sansone told The Advocate that the hostility Zahn experienced because of her sexuality spurred her decision to resign.

“Management ignored her request for some sort of remedial action,” Sansone said. “The conditions were so intolerable that anybody would feel compelled to leave.”

Despite securing the most new sponsorship business of any corporate sales manager during the 2024 sales season, according to the complaint, Zahn was informed in February 2025 that Steelers president and owner Arthur J. Rooney II had decided not to pay her the entirety of the more than $100,000 in bonuses and commissions she had earned. Zahn alleges this was in retaliation for her prior complaints about her treatment during her employment.

To date, Zahn has received a check for less than half of what she is owed, which she has not cashed, according to the lawsuit.

“What I’m hoping for is that the Steelers recognize that they made a mistake here and step up to the plate,” Sansone told The Advocate. “Or step up to the line of scrimmage, I guess you’d say, and do what’s right.”

Subscribe to the LGBTQ Nation newsletter and be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.