topic for Know Your Current Events. Age discrimination lawsuit By , Dreith reached the age of 65 and the league asked him to move into the instant replay booth. He refused and was demoted to line judge. Dreith was fired after the season, thus prompting him to send a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). On February 13, 1991, the EEOC ruled that the NFL had violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act by illegally demoting Dreith. After attempts to reach a compromise with the league, the EEOC sued the NFL on August 13. In the first-ever lawsuit filed by the agency against Professional Football for age discrimination, the EEOC claimed that the NFL unfairly reviewed the job performance of older referees more closely than that of younger officials. The EEOC also noted that the league's performance ratings showed that Dreith performed better than some of the younger officials who were retained. On January 5, 1993, Dreith and the NFL agreed to a $165,000 settlement, plus court costs and attorney fees. Death Ben Dreith died on April 25, 2021 at age 96. See also List of American Football League officials References 1925 births 2021 deaths Sportspeople from Denver American Football League officials National Football League officials Northern Colorado Bears baseball players Northern Colorado Bears football players Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball players American men's basketball players Baseball players from Denver Basketball players from Denver Players of American football from Denver