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Former Kansas City Chiefs employee and ex-NFL player Ramzee Robinson has sued the Chiefs, alleging racial discrimination.
Robinson, who is Black, filed the lawsuit in the Western District of Missouri on Tuesday. Front Office Sports first reported the lawsuit. Per the lawsuit, the "Chiefs paid African-American business employees less than their white counterparts."
The lawsuit claims that the Chiefs "unlawfully discriminated and retaliated against Plaintiff based on his race" and "unlawfully terminated" Robinson.
“We can’t comment because it’s an active legal matter,” Chiefs vice president of football communications Brad Gee told Pro Football Talk on Wednesday. “But to be clear, the Chiefs do not tolerate discrimination of any kind. We look forward to the facts of this case coming to light.”
Per the lawsuit, Robinson worked as Kansas City's Director of Player Engagement from 2016 to 2025. The lawsuit states that he started in his position with a salary of $35,000 before earning a final salary of $125,000. The lawsuit claims that the average salary for Robinson's position was $171,932.
Per the lawsuit, Robinson sought a salary review with team president Mark Donovan. According to the lawsuit, Donovan rejected the request while declaring that the "Chiefs had previously given him raises."
The lawsuit states that Donovan pressured Robinson into renewing his contract and that once he signed it, the Chiefs refused a request from the Houston Texans to interview him for a job, stating that an interview would be in violation of his contract.
The lawsuit states that Robinson's supervisor, executive vice president of administration Kirsten Krug, called him into her office on Feb. 15, 2025 and told Robinson that he had engaged in "conduct detrimental to the league.”
Per the lawsuit, Krug "suggested" that Robinson "attacked" a white female coworker and that there was security video evidence of the alleged incident. Krug "refused to show Plaintiff the video," according to the lawsuit. Krug then fired Robinson, according to the lawsuit.
Per the lawsuit, Robinson "maintained a good working relationship with his direct reports and a great rapport with the players."
The lawsuit also claims that an "African-American female" resigned from a management position with the Chiefs after the team refused to give her a promotion or raise from her $50,000 salary. The lawsuit claims that the Chiefs then hired a white woman for the same position with a salary of $80,000.
The lawsuit states that Robinson's "race was a motivating factor in Defendant’s actions against Plaintiff." It seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages to address "emotional distress, lost wages, including front and back pay and other benefits, reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs necessary for litigation."
Robinson, 41, played three seasons in the NFL as a cornerback. The Detroit Lions selected him as the last player taken in the 2007 NFL Draft. He played in 19 games across two seasons with the Lions and finished his playing career splitting the 2009 season with the Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles. He did not play for the Chiefs.
