Professional basketball has broken world barriers by having star players from countless different countries and broken the gender barrier as well. WNBA 2020 Playoffs: Points of Education (Part 2), 2019 WNBA Inside the Rulebook: Screens Mosher has four seasons of G League officiating experience, five seasons in the WNBA and worked both the G League Finals and the WNBA Finals last season. Holtkamp officiated in numerous collegiate conferences, including the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Big East and Colonial Athletic. NEW YORK The WNBA today announced the 15 referees who have earned spots to serve as on-court and/or alternate officials in the WNBA Playoffs 2021 presented by Google. Women's College Basketball. In his words, all the league had to do was hire the best people for the job. As the NBA continues to normalize the notion of women officials in this male-dominated space, Holtkamp-Sterling is confident the league is moving in the right direction. When it comes to mentors within the officiating world, though, it all comes back to the paths forged before them. R denotes rookie. During the 2021-22 NFL season, the . To order The other five Sage, Schroeder, Simone Jelks, Lauren Holtkamp-Sterling and Ashley Moyer-Gleich are active in the league today and among . Currently, there are six female referees who work NBA games, up from one, Lauren Holtkamp, seven years ago. The Pennsylvania native has four years of collegiate officiating experience, with stints in the ACC, Atlantic 10, Patriot League and Ivy League, among other conferences. None of it bothered me. Browse 1,151 wnba referees stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. The NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee has approved the 11 game officials, who will bring a combined experience of 63 Women's Final Four appearances, to officiate the three games . Officials will be evaluated after each round of the playoffs to determine future advancement in the 2021 postseason. 2019 WNBA Inside the Rulebook: Continuation It's something that the NBA's senior vice president spoke about last year, pointing out how there hasn't been a concentrated effort to hire female referees. Grasping it entirely is a struggle. "[He] confronted me and told me I didn't belong there, working that game," Holtkamp-Sterling recounted years later. But she viewed the NBA as a challenge to conquer, plus she took comfort in the fact that at the time, NBA mechanics were actually pretty similar to those she was used to at the women's college level. Kicking off the list is Lauren Holtkamp. View. All five women said they'd absolutely recommend refereeing both men's and women's basketball to any young woman with the drive and dedication. Please try again. According to Career Trend, WNBA referees earn a base salary of $180,000 per year. It stuck for good, always as a term of endearment. Moyer-Gleich tells multiple stories of NBA security staff confusing her for a cheerleader or a referee's wife when she entered the building to officiate games; to varying degrees, her peers have similar experiences. She also has five years of high school officiating experience in her home state. Whether they are sharing experiences from their rookie seasons or answering any of her questions, she finds comfort knowing she can trust her peers in any situation. Referees: Katie Lukanich, Darren Krzesnik, Kyle Bacon. Its just that they werent there to be recognized as a referee.. Sun Belt apologizes to Troy for refs' late blunder, Irish move past Wolfpack as Miles still sidelined, Spirit make NWSL history by signing 15-year-old, Volynets stops Stearns to reach first WTA semi, Shiffrin 4th in super-G, still chasing 86th win, Sheldon gives Buckeyes lift vs. Michigan in return, White out as Pitt hoops coach after 42-99 mark, All in the family: how three generations of Jaquezes have ruled West Coast basketball. Now were bearing the fruit of this.. RotoWire considers the best player values in Yahoo fantasy leagues for Friday's 10-game slate. Fahy walked into Ndour during the second quarter while looking in the opposite direction . Flores and Mosher earned promotions from the G League level, as did another pair of new hires Matt Kallio, who becomes the NBAs first international full-time official, and Robert Hussey. Ashley Moyer-Gleich, 33, a former Millersville University college basketball player who debuted as a full-time NBA referee in 2018 after working in the WNBA, took years of mentorship from Kantner; both are from cities within an hour of each other in Pennsylvania. Erica Ayala. The entry-level referees are paid around $600 per match. Officiating In Perspective with Barry Mano, 2020 Womens National Basketball Association, 2017 Womens National Basketball Association Roster, 2016 Womens National Basketball Association Roster, Next Level Softball Umpiring Free Email Series, High School Volleyball Officials Quiz 2023. They congratulated me for getting hired and being in the WNBA, I was like, thats crazy because I was watching you guys when I was 12 years old and now were working together.. Ashley Moyer-Gleich (gleash) has officiated 110 regular-season games in four seasons as an NBA staff official. Referee data is available for the 1988-89 through 2022-23 seasons. "Being able to see myself in them -- they trailblazed that.". Lifelong bonds have been formed within this group. . Today, Palmer counts men she worked with among her best friends. Not that anyone is counting or, at least, needs to be. Before we do, check out a compilation video of every technical foul handed out last season. . Jul 6, 2018, 01:32 PM EDT. With no big distinguishable difference between the referee pay for men and women, it's still clear that being a referee is a high-paying job. Ten women have held that job in league history, with the current eight joining Violet Palmer and Dee Kantner on that list. She's taken it to a new level. While the NBA continues to be at the forefront of providing more opportunities for women officials, other leagues such as the NFL and the American Hockey Association (the NHLs minor league affiliate) have taken strides in recent years with hiring their first women officials. Certainly not. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Luka Doncic Arguing With The Female Ref Fouling In Love What? Access the best of Getty Images with our simple subscription plan. Included aren't just the five women who have achieved full-time NBA status, but also many more working their way up through the G League or WNBA training ranks. The 2022-23 Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team will represent Stanford University during the 2022-23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. Bonner already had started working NCAA Division I women's . And 25 of the 63 referees in the G-League are women. G League referee ShaRae Mitchell becomes the 15th woman in NBA history picked to work a regular-season game. Below is the 2020-21 NBA roster of officials with each official's uniform number, name, years in the league through last season and hometown. WNBA 2020: Points of Education (Part 1) Cheryl Flores and Dannica Mosher have been promoted to the level of full-time staff officials, the NBA said Thursday. Michaela Gilmer is an Interactive Producer for NBA.com. Im sure we would have been open to it, said Sam Perkins, forward/center who played for four teams from 1984 to 2001 and is now the treasurer for the National Basketball Retired Players Association. And this is exactly what a true meritocracy looks like., More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports, Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute, you should be a registered Torstar account holder. Our paths are all different but we all got to the same end goal.. Facebook. Newspapers Limited, 8 Spadina Avenue, 10th Floor, Toronto, ON M5V 0S8. Everything we send is officiating specific because that's all we do. Tom Washington, a 30-year veteran whom Palmer names as one of her top mentors, bestowed the nickname "Queen" upon her during a group event midway through her career. $425. It was the first time that women officiated regular-season games in an all-male U.S. professional league. $18K. Officiating is ostensibly the main subject, and certainly a common thread. Two black women did something this week that no other women have done before: They refereed a professional basketball game together. Just as meaningful, though, is the broader support structure that's been created. N BA commissioner Adam Silver wants more female referees in the NBA. Durant, a four-time scoring champion, now sets his sights on Hakeem Olajuwon in 12th place. Rather, they've tried to go further. I commend those women [in hockey] because first of all, you have to know how to skate, and I would be out there busting my butt trying to do that, Sago said with a laugh. According to Career Trend, those who officiate WNBA games earn a salary of $180,000 per year to start. Female NBA Referees Are Becoming a Normal Part of the Game. You really dont know until you sit down and read a rule book, says Moyer-Gleich. Professional referees in the National Basketball Association are divided into three distinctions: Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), entry-level and Senior. The NBA has made significant alterations since Palmer and Kantner's day, where the league would have to improvise a makeshift women's locker room in arenas that weren't prepared for them. "Did I hear it? October 13, 2022 9:36 AM. Danielle Scott (right) talks with officiating partners during a game. Sago, Holtkamp-Sterling, Schroeder and Moyer-Gleich were all on-hand in Clearwater, Florida to celebrate Sago's 30th birthday a couple summers ago (Jelks wasn't yet a full-time official). Palmer's focus was internal. The NBA has always been a league that prides itself on giving equal opportunity to everyone. WNBA. Natalie Sago was a ref for the G-League and WNBA. copyright 2023 National Basketball Referees Association. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. @BrooklynNets at @celtics Add onto that insurance, retirement plans and the opportunity to travel the country for free, it's no wonder referees stick around for the long haul. "And it's even better when the things they see are possible look like them.". Referee assignments are posted at approximately 9:00am ET each game day. By accessing any information beyond this page, you agree to abide by the Privacy Policy / Your California Privacy Rights and Terms of Use. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Referee. Women NBA Referees. Organize, control, distribute and measure all of your digital content. Twenty-four of the G League's 57 referees are women, plus several who jump between the NBA and G League (all NBA officials with under four years of experience are commonly assigned as crew chief for G League games to gain experience); 15 of the WNBA's 33 referees are women, nine of whom also work games in the G League. To that effect, there have been real efforts toward promoting equality and diversity within the officiating ranks, the sort that may not make headlines but truly advance a progressive agenda. She worked the 2013 and 2014 NBA G League Finals and the 2014 WNBA Conference Finals. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". 4091. Taking a look at the numbers behind Nikola Jokic's historic season for the Nuggets. The 2004 graduate of Brush High School worked 16 regular-season NBA . Furthermore, a lot of WNBA referees spend their off-season refereeing Division I women's (and men's) college basketball games. Five women officials is a step up from one or two, but still represents a minuscule percentage of the league's 65 total referees. Any player or coach would be ill-advised to go there. The other five women officials speak highly and graciously of her and look to her as a mentor as well as a trailblazer for referees. Jelks, along with her female counterparts, dont pay much attention to what fans or critics have to say and know they wouldnt be here if it wasnt for their esteemed skillset. In 2003, she was the main referee for the 2002-03 Women's DFB-Pokal final between 1. The Associated Press released a study Friday regarding the NCAA referee pay gap. They make up 8% of the 75-member officiating staff. Ex-Rainbow Wahine Maj Forsberg makes mark in WNBA landscape as league's only female crew chief. Its not based on your gender, race or ethnicity.. She was working a high school AAU tournament one weekend when a bystander approached her with a simple question: Why dont you do this for a living? Natalie Sago says her time officiating games in the WNBA prepared her for an NBA officiating job. The two even got to officiate two high school games together, a moment that seems like yesterday in her memory even as she's gone on to call contests in both the WNBA and NBA. The first time Jenna Schroeder was booed by 40,000 NBA fans as she exited the court, she knew she had finally made it. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. She played through college and worked her way up the high school, college . Jelks describes one of the many attributes of being a great NBA official is holding players and coaches accountable for their actions. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Turner Broadcasting. Active referees are listed in bold. Boards are the best place to save images and video clips. And this is not a skill you can learn overnight.. But now, in 2021-22, the NBA has six female referees on its full-time officiating staff, the most ever. Natalie Sago and Jenna Schroeder have made NBA history as the first female referees to work on the same court. The NBA promoted Danielle Scott to a full-time official on Monday, making her the sixth woman on the league's current staff. She officiated games for the B-League, WNBA, Big East, and ACC during her journey to the top. Other projections put the base salary for new referees somewhere around $250,000. 2 min read. Tickets for the WNBA's first-ever preseason matchup in Canada featuring the Chicago Sky and the Minnesota Lynx go on sale Wednesday, March 8, on International Women's Day. "In that moment, he was being very clear -- there was no micro-aggression or anything: 'I'm going to tell you exactly that I don't think you belong here doing this.'". We won't send you spam. WNBA 2021: Points of Education (Part 1) Referee Kevin Fahy on Sunday ejected Astou Ndour of the WNBA 's Chicago Sky after she appeared to accidentally make contact with his stomach as he walked into her. "This isn't, 'Let's go out and do social work,'" Monty McCutchen, NBA's vice president of referee development and training, said. She became a professional referee in 1999 by officiating matches in the Women's Bundesliga, after that she was selected to officiate in the Regionalliga. First, the sixth-seeded Chicago Sky hosts the seventh-seeded Dallas Wings at 8 p.m. Last up on the list is Jenna Schroeder. Fast forward to 2022, Sago worked the Suns-Bucks game Sunday in Milwaukee, where Phoenix coach Monty Williams dismissed any notion that female refs might cause a games texture or tone to be different. During one year of Schroeders journey, she worked seven days a week for six months straight. These officials begin with a salary of $250,000 as first-year referees. The salary slab of referees is decided as per their experience. #24 Scott, #77 Lane, #17 Sterling She heard whispers from some corners of the sport. But no one, not by a long shot, thinks the work is done. Those who followed them still faced real challenges. She joined the pros as a full-time ref in 2018 and had a side career as a bartender while climbing her way up the ranks. The NFL pays referees an average of $205,000 per annum. None attempt to discount their own burdens that they overcame. Sago was a collegiate athlete but played softball instead of basketball. They all worked between 20 and 26 games as non-staff referees last season. Our women officials give technical fouls at the same rate as anyone else., Said Williams: I hope one day well be able to look at them as officials instead of a lady official or a male official.. She played in high school and college in Croatia and Puerto Rico before returning to the States and becoming a ref. The NBA's roster of female referees continues to grow. Women officials are often generalized as being too sensitive when they dont tolerate or permit certain forms of disrespect on the court. This season has seen a record 7 female referees officiate at least one game in the NBA. Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. By. Today, though, this is frankly the bare minimum; no one in the league office is patting themselves on the back for simply keeping up with the times. "She taught me how to carry myself, how to be comfortable being the only woman in the room all the time. "Like Vice President Harris, she worked her way to the . Capable of handling some plays in secondary area of coverage. Please logout and login again. Were looking for the best referees, McCutchen said. The NBA, like the society it's part of, inches ever closer to true equity. The ability to advance in this career is evident. No. Jelks views Palmer as a key mentor in multiple ways. There's no jealousy here, no bitterness over an "easier" path faced by today's young women. "Being a Black woman herself, being a trailblazer as the first African-American [woman referee] in the NBA, she understands 100% of the challenges that I face," Jelks, 35, said. Tap into Getty Images' global scale, data-driven insights, and network of more than 340,000 creators to create content exclusively for your brand. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. any players who have declared for the 2022 WNBA draftincluding seniors, . These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Sago, 31, and Schroeder, 35, were two of the three people on the officiating crew . Sago would eventually work with all three superstars during her path to the NBA, which included stops at various levels including high school college, the G League and the WNBA. . Simone Jelks, the first Black woman hired in this role since Palmer herself, was also one of several women to attend Palmer's yearly refereeing camps before reaching the NBA level (such camps are common in the refereeing world, both for development and scouting; Palmer's is open to all collegiate officials). Next up is Simone Jelks, who became the league's seventh full-time female ref in 2019. San Diego State. She is the leagues longest-tenured woman official. Women's Euros. I wanted to do as many games as I could to prepare me to work in the NBA. They're just talking about something they're uncomfortable with.". Probably. In the second game, the fifth-seeded Phoenix Mercury faces the eighth-seeded New York Liberty at 10 p.m. For female basketball referees, men's college basketball may be the bleakest of frontiers. "They say I'm the sixth female referee in the NBA," said Schroeder, the sixth woman officially hired as a full-time NBA referee. Thirteen of the 31 referees in the WNBA are women. Under scrutiny from her first tipoff, Palmer instantly proved she could withstand the grumbling and ref . "Middle child" is perhaps more fitting; as the only one of the five, current full-time women in the league with a direct connection to the Palmer/Kantner days. Holtkamp-Sterling, now 40, had just finished officiating a youth boy's game as the solo referee. There aren't many great answers for why 17 years passed between women being hired, for instance, although it's understandable why those at the top of today's league prefer to look forward. I thought that was awesome. While Palmer and Kantner are no longer working for the NBA, their legacies live on. Referee Eric Brewton during the game between the Las Vegas Aces and Connecticut Sun in Game Three of the Semifinals of the 2020 WNBA Playoffs on. Holtkamp-Sterling finds comfort in having close working relationships with other NBA officials. As of last season, 11 different women were employed in assistant coaching positions around the NBA. To amplify your resume, you can try to get involved with your school's basketball team as either a student manager, player or referee assistant if possible. In addition, referees are paid bonus money for working the playoffs and NBA Finals. And not everyone was comfortable. [She's] always been my biggest role model. But again, thats counting. Oct 15, 2022. ESPN was unable to obtain comment from Kantner, 60, for this story. They were audible conversations for Palmer and Kantner, and sometimes more. WNBA 2020 Playoffs: Points of Education (Part 1) Jelks describes people telling her that their daughters tune into NBA games she works and won't even focus on the players; their eyes only on her. But now, in 2021-22, the NBA has six female referees on its full-time officiating staff, the most ever. (Suggested reading: Blake Griffin trolled by YouTuber courtside), Be the first one to comment on this story. I love that Im a part of an organization that hires you based on if you can do the job and based on your skills. After playing college basketball in Millersville, Pennsylvania, Ashley Moyer decided to pursue a career in officiating. In the beginning, back in 1997, there were two: Violet Palmer and Dee Kantner. "Once or twice a week in the summer, we would get on a Skype call and spend an hour or two hours talking rules, talking scenarios, situations. ET. It does take time to develop officials, McCutchen said. A camera crew came out to the floor to film the in-arena entertainment and there was a woman videographer who approached her and said, I am really glad that youre here.. "I always had that mentor, a role model on how to be successful in a male-dominated field," Schroeder said. The NBA's roster of female referees continues to grow. She competed in the Sweet 16 of the of the 2010 Division II NCAA Tournament. Flores has spent nine seasons in the G League and 10 in the WNBA, and is also an accomplished womens college referee with two Final Fours on her resume. "Dee did it in a day where I'm sure she didn't have that support.". Scott has spent much of her first year in the league building rapport with the players and teams. "There's no reason why we shouldn't have more women as officials, coaches and basketball executives in our league," Silver said. 1. Its just fantastic. Entry-level referees are on the lower end of that scale and receive larger paydays the longer they are in the league. Both entered the league fully in 1997, and Palmer, now 56, got the honor of making history when she donned the whistle for a late October game that year. We are excited for them to have reached this milestone in their careers.. Her love for simply being on the basketball court fused with her desire to prove those naysayers wrong. Add four from the list of nine part-timers and the share of female refs bumps to 12%. Millions of high-quality images, video, and music options are waiting for you. If they are working full then they are paid $250,000 per season. The article is made available for educational use by individuals. "Kids have to see that things are possible," Jelks said. But, its hard for someone whos a player to sit down and read the rule book and understand it because its so its not relatable to how a player understands the game.. Women's Champ Week predictions: Which teams will win the auto bids in all 32 conferences? Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. According to numbers provided by the NBA, 16 of the 65 referees (28 percent) in the NBA G League are women, and at the conclusion of the 2017 WNBA season, 12 of the 32 referees (37 percent) were . Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution New to motherhood another around-the-clock job Moyer-Gleich remembers getting hired in 2018 as the jumping-off point for the league, which has now been a domino effect of more women coming through the officiating pipeline. Despite women entering the professional sports ranks in historically all-male leagues - Jen Welter was an Arizona Cardinals assistant coaching intern this summer, and former WNBA star Becky Hammon . In its . Today, there are a total of five full-time women NBA referees, an all-time league high. It hits harder now after years of reflection. By. This article is the copyright of Referee Enterprises, Inc., and may not be republished in whole or in part online, in print or in any capacity without expressed written permission from Referee. With four more working on a part-time basis and two fill-ins from the NBA G League, the league has a dozen women on call to make calls on any given night. WNBA referee Kevin Fahy is facing criticism for his extravagant ejection of Chicago Sky center Astou Ndour. In terms of explaining certain officiating calls during live games, Moyer-Gleich uses her past experience as a player to translate and articulate the rule book into basketball jargon that players and coaches will understand. 2020 WNBA Inside the Rulebook: Block, Charge. As WWE's New Day would say, shame! Listed is the 2021 WNBA roster of officials, along with their number. The NBA feels very strongly that this should be a meritocracy. Her husband, Johnee Gleich, is currently an official in the NCAA. Listed is the 2021 WNBA roster of officials, along with their number. In this particular business, thats one of the loftiest goals of diversity: Sameness. ET each game day. "I said to the guys: 'You can curse! WNBA 2021: Points of Education (Part 3), 2020 WNBA Inside the Rulebook: Block, Charge However, her journey was slightly different from some of her female counterparts. I think that the NBA is very visual and theyve done a great job of showing that. She told The Daily Telegraph she almost quit officiating due to A-holes in the crowd yelling derogatory things to her. (Prior to entering the league, Palmer worked as a referee in NCAA Division I women's basketball.) She was blown away recently when a friend referred to her as the "Jackie Robinson of officiating." Collect, curate and comment on your files. Adding women to the refereeing positions has been a priority for McCutchen and other NBA executives, including Commissioner Adam Silver. Copyright 2022 Referee Enterprises Inc. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Holtkamp reffed in the G-League for six years before eventually getting the call-up to the big stage. The 15 referees assigned to the 2021 WNBA Playoffs are below: Copyright 2023 NBA Media Ventures, LLC. "And I say that very positively. Meet Lauren Holtkamp, Ashley Moyer-Gleich, Natalie Sago, and now Jenna Schroeder. "She'll always say, if I did it, you can do it. She got her professional start in the WNBA, which was a big deal for her because she grew up idolizing players such as Candace Parker and Diana Taurasi. Sago says she will always praise the WNBA for helping prepare her for the NBA. So, we make mistakes out there on the floor, but the main thing is we have to just move on and reset., For me, if something goes wrong or if I can do something better, I look at the clock, then memorize the time on the game clock and time on the shot clock and just reset..