Nine former security representatives recently fired by the National Football League claim they were let go simply because they were more than 60 years old, according to an age discrimination suit filed this week in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

According to the complaint, the nine plaintiffs are all physically and mentally fit former law enforcement officers who had served as with the league from between 11 and 49 years. Five of the plaintiffs are in their 70s, while the other four are in their 60s.

Their responsibilities, according to the complaint, were to provide stadium inspections, prescription drug audits, background checks, and game day security services for each of the 32 NFL teams to which they were assigned. The league also keeps two unassigned representatives who primarily perform investigative services and background checks for the league as a whole.

Issues arose, according to the complaint, after the NFL hired Cathy Lanier in September 2016, the former Washington, D.C., chief of police, as its new security chief. The complaint claims that Lanier had reportedly been “wildly unpopular with the rank and file” of the Metropolitan Police Department.

Upon her arrival, “rumors swirled” that Lanier planned to fire security representatives, “creating an atmosphere of fear and foreboding,” which the complaint alleges was intentional, as “intimidation is Lanier's 'management' style.”

In April 2017, Lanier alerted representatives that the league was soliciting requests for proposals to fill SR positions to help it move “in a different direction,” according to the complaint. All the plaintiffs said they applied; none were interviewed by Lanier. The plaintiffs claim the process was a sham, designed as cover for Lanier's true intentions of firing the representatives because she'd determined they were too old.

While telling the plaintiffs in July 2017 they were being terminated, they claim Lanier stated it had nothing to do with performance. None of those terminated were under 60 years of age. All those that replaced them, the plaintiffs claim, were anywhere from 10 to 25 years younger.

The complaint stated that Lanier's then-director of security, Michael Rahill, bore witness to the alleged age discrimination.

Rahill allegedly entered Lanier's office as she was about to call one of the plaintiffs, James Buckley, who was then security representative for the New York Giants, to fire him. When he asked why Buckley was being terminated, Lanier allegedly told Rahill that he was too old to walk the stadium, despite being loved by all.

“Meanwhile, plaintiff Buckley is an avid gym-goer and weight lifter, he has a second-degree black belt in karate, a brown belt in Tai Kwon Do, and celebrated his 70th birthday by doing shoulder shrugs with 600 pounds,” the complaint contends, adding that he could “run circles around much younger” security representatives. Buckley served with the Paterson, New Jersey, police department for three decades

Rahill is no longer with the NFL. A message seeking comment was left at the private security consulting company with which he is publicly affiliated.

Pryor Cashman partners Lisa Buckley, the daughter of one of the plaintiffs, and Joshua Zuckerberg are handling the litigation.

Reached by phone, Buckley noted that the suit was brought after prior attempts to resolve the dispute with the NFL fell through, and a right to pursue litigation was granted by the federal U.S.Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in February.

“This is a very unfortunate case, where the NFL thinks it can just throw people away, purely based on age, and that really is what this is about,” Buckley said.

In a statement, Brian McCarthy, vice president of communications for the league, said the allegations in the suit “have no merit.”

“The challenged decisions were the result of a wide and objective selection process led by Cathy Lanier. Ms. Lanier is a highly-respected NFL executive and former Washington, D.C. Police Chief with demonstrated impeccable integrity and judgment,” McCarthy said. “We will vigorously defend these.”