NFL Referee Ben Dreith, 65, Will Fight His Demotion

For 30 years, Ben Dreith has gone nose to nose with angry coaches. Now he’s angry at the NFL, claiming age discrimination was the reason he was demoted.

Dreith, at 65 the league’s oldest official, said his demotion is “constructed termination.”

“They constructed this to make me quit,” Dreith said of his reassignment from referee to line judge. “They set me up. They said, ‘He will not take that demotion.’ And I’m not going to let them do it.”

Dreith, of Englewood, Colo., has officiated more than 500 NFL games in his 30 years with the league, the past 25 years as a referee.

The league had no comment on Dreith’s remarks.

Dreith filed a complaint last March with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The complaint stems from officials supervisor Art McNally’s decision to demote Dreith after the 1989 season. McNally cited Dreith’s low ratings, but noted in a letter to Dreith that age was also a factor.

Dreith says that is age discrimination, and he says if the EEOC does not give him satisfaction, he will take his case to court.

“When you go to court, they have to talk. They don’t have to talk now,” said Dreith, adding that he earns the same now as when he was a referee--$2,000 per regular-season game. “They could settle this if they let me go out as a referee. There’s no money involved in this now.”