Rather, Hopkins said afterward that in general the Liberty got the short end of the stick, both in this game and all season long. In this particular business, thats one of the loftiest goals of diversity: Sameness. Hussey has worked five G League seasons and two in the WNBA. In addition, referees are paid bonus money for working the playoffs and NBA Finals. Listed is the 2021 WNBA roster of officials, along with their number. First-year NBA official Danielle Scott views her rookie season the same as any player entering the league would: an adjustment. The first female NBA referees. And Silver . This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Copyright 2023 NBA Media Ventures, LLC. More than anything, it's that normalcy that today's women NBA referees aspire to. Most notably, then-Celtics broadcaster Cedric Maxwell used a stunningly offensive "get back in the kitchen" line for a game Palmer was officiating in 2007 (Maxwell would later apologize). The NBA now has the most . When Holtkamp-Sterling returned to officiating after giving birth in 2019, the league had arranged specific accommodations for her as its first-ever mother to officiate a game. Now check your email to confirm your subscription to the Referee.com Review. The NBA's roster of female referees continues to grow. The league is ahead of its peers here, although progress must be viewed relatively. "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. It does not store any personal data. "They congratulated me for getting hired and being in the WNBA, I was like, that . From pace of play to call selectivity, Scotts transition from the G League, to the WNBA and now to the NBA has been a whirlwind but shes enjoying the learning process. Officials will be evaluated after each round of the playoffs to determine future advancement in the 2021 postseason. She was blown away recently when a friend referred to her as the "Jackie Robinson of officiating." Ex-Rainbow Wahine Maj Forsberg makes mark in WNBA landscape as league's only female crew chief. Listed is the 2021 WNBA roster of officials, along with their number. ET each game day. 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. In the 1990s, only two female referees managed to work their way to the top. Effectively the glue for a crew through consistency, teamwork, and communication - makes partners better by carrying a larger portion of the crew's load than an Umpire. Women NBA Referees. WNBA 2021: Points of Education (Part 2) Please logout and login again. Conley was in the G League for seven seasons, Schwab for five and, like Scott, they also worked WNBA games this season. When we see one referee get some type of accolade, we highlight it on our pages on social media. None of it deterred her -- in fact, quite the opposite. :-). . Natalie Sago didnt watch much NBA basketball growing up. The NBA now has eight . Jul 6, 2018, 01:32 PM EDT. Since Holtkamp-Sterling, four more women have been hired as full-time NBA referees. I had absolutely no idea you could be a referee and make a living out of it. No portion of NBA.com may be duplicated, redistributed or manipulated in any form. In 2003, she was the main referee for the 2002-03 Women's DFB-Pokal final between 1. They're just talking about something they're uncomfortable with.". Moyer-Gleich officiated three seasons in the NBA G League, including the 2018 playoffs. They allow the league's scouts to evaluate larger swaths of the population and identify greater cumulative talent. The Associated Press released a study Friday regarding the NCAA referee pay gap. $18K. Palmer and Kantner were so much more than just trailblazers; the weight they shouldered eased the burden for all who came after. 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. Grow your brand authentically by sharing brand content with the internets creators. Because I've seen it done before.". It was the first time that women officiated regular-season games in an all-male U.S. professional league. Capable of handling some plays in secondary area of coverage. And this is not a skill you can learn overnight.. 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. Ten women have held that job in league history, with the current eight joining Violet Palmer and Dee Kantner on that list. RotoWire names five under-the-radar players who could add value to your rosters as we approach fantasy playoffs. may be duplicated, redistributed or manipulated in any form. From coaches to players, we have it all. "There are a lot of things I want to say about the officiating . "She'll always say, if I did it, you can do it. Next up is Simone Jelks, who became the league's seventh full-time female ref in 2019. 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. I dont notice whether coaches are hands off. I havent seen any [bullying]. WNBA 2020: Points of Education (Part 1) Referee Position. The Getty Images design is a trademark of Getty Images. Natalie Sago and Jenna Schroeder have made NBA history as the first female referees to work on the same court. Young women shouldn't have to look at officiating, or so many other traditionally male-dominated professions, as rarified air for only the chosen few. She officiated games for the B-League, WNBA, Big East, and ACC during her journey to the top. She served as a WNBA referee in 2018. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. And that is where the NBA has been busy in recent years. Boger is the only referee to retire this offseason. Before becoming a ref in 2018, Moyer-Gleich officiated games for the WNBA. In the second game, the fifth-seeded Phoenix Mercury faces the eighth-seeded New York Liberty at 10 p.m. While that was the most overtly negative experience Holtkamp-Sterling recalls from her career, it wasn't the only one. NCAA gymnastics 2023: Who has surprised this season? When shes not working a game or traveling to the next city, the four-year NBA official remains dedicated to the league 24-7 from studying film to communicating with her associates. I would love for you guys to be a part of it.' Referee - August 12, 2021. Entry-level NBA referees earn $250,000 per year as "rookies." Lauren Holtkamp-Sterling is the NBAs longest-tenured female official. G League referee ShaRae Mitchell becomes the 15th woman in NBA history picked to work a regular-season game. By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of all the cookies. 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. Who will win nationals? As a lifelong hooper and collegiate player, Ashley Moyer-Gleich knows first-hand about those frustrating moments during a game, like when a whistle is blown against her or not getting a call after thinking she was fouled. Once an individual reaches senior level, they make an average of $500,000 per year. (Prior to entering the league, Palmer worked as a referee in NCAA Division I women's basketball.) The first category is WNBA referees, the second is entry-level referees and the third is the top of the line senior referees the best of the best. Career Explorer Guide also estimated . Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. 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. Ashley Moyer-Gleich (gleash) has officiated 110 regular-season games in four seasons as an NBA staff official. Browse 1,151 wnba referees stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. The first female NBA referees Chuck Solomon/Getty Images. The NBA feels very strongly that this should be a meritocracy. 2020 WNBA Inside the Rulebook: Block, Charge. Lifelong bonds have been formed within this group. San Diego State. 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.. SHARE. 1. Now, there are five different women officiating games on a nightly basis. If you are having difficulty accessing any content on this website, please visit our Accessibility page. Its not based on your gender, race or ethnicity.. Women's Champ Week predictions: Which teams will win the auto bids in all 32 conferences? Be the first one to comment on this story. Danielle Scott (right) talks with officiating partners during a game. Kicking off the list is Lauren Holtkamp. None of it bothered me. (See the clip below.) Of course," Palmer, who retired from the NBA in 2016, said. Subscribe to get the Referee.com Review every week plus periodic free training and special offers on the sports you officiate. 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. He was promoted to referee in 2006 and has overseen gameday officiating crews since. "In recent years, we have focused on expanding our pipeline of officials to greatly increase the pool of potential hires, and we have seen encouraging results, not only in the NBA but in the WNBA and the G League as well," Adam Silver, who became NBA commissioner in 2014, said to ESPN. Five women officials is a step up from one or two, but still represents a minuscule percentage of the league's 65 total referees. 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. Everything we send is officiating specific because that's all we do. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. 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. She struggled at times with the constant demands from those she encountered, both stated and implied, to justify herself or explain her pursuit of success in a heavily male-dominated field. My ideals completely match up with the NBAs and I think it would be difficult to work for a company if your ideals didnt and I just feel very fortunate that they believe in everything I believe in.. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". After seeing an overwhelmingly male-dominated officiating staff through the late 1990s and early 2000s, fans began to notice more female referees. 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. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". "[He] confronted me and told me I didn't belong there, working that game," Holtkamp-Sterling recounted years later. If they are working full then they are paid $250,000 per season. NBA.com spoke with each of the six women to learn more about their unique journeys to the league: Jenna Schroeder talks with Spurs guard Dejounte Murray before a game. While standing on the free-throw extended line during a timeout, Lauren Holtkamp-Sterling recalls a quiet yet powerful moment early in her NBA officiating career. The setting was a local recreation center in her home state of Missouri, where she'd previously played four years of college basketball at Drury University before becoming a referee. Professional basketball has broken world barriers by having star players from countless different countries and broken the gender barrier as well. Referees in the National Basketball Association (NBA) oversee 120 pre-season games, 1,260 regular season games, and four rounds of playoff matches.These officials "oversee competition in real-time between 10 exceptional athletes, making calls with 95% accuracy.". "Here we are in a very male-dominated space, and the league was very proactive to make sure I had what I needed.". Turner is permitted to get to a spot twitter.com/i/web/status/1, TONIGHT "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.'". The average salary of a male basketball player is put at $7.7 million while that of their female counterparts is a mere $100,658. Any player or coach would be ill-advised to go there. Today, she is best known for the memes that surfaced after an encounter she had with Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic. WNBA. A native of Cleveland, a city she describes as being filled with underdog energy and soul, her family relocated to the suburbs where Jelks, like many teenagers, yearned to fit in among her peers. WNBA referees even less. She's taken it to a new level. 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. Were capable and not just capable but like beyond excellent and can do the job just as well as our male counterparts.. As WWE's New Day would say, shame! 2023 Getty Images. Each game crew consists of three on-court officials and one on-site alternate. All we have to do is find the best referees and open our eyes to half of the population.. Not that anyone is counting or, at least, needs to be. The NBA now has eight women at the full-time referee level, the most the league has ever had at one time. And thats the way our society should be, McCutchen said. Meet Lauren Holtkamp, Ashley Moyer-Gleich, Natalie Sago, and now Jenna Schroeder. And thats not where the NBA or any other meritocracy wants to be if its goal is to have the most talented, hardest-working members get the most opportunities and rise highest. WNBA 2019: Points of Education (Part 2) Compared to other sports, referee's earnings in the NBA and WNBA are among the best. All rights reserved. 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. Newspapers Limited, 8 Spadina Avenue, 10th Floor, Toronto, ON M5V 0S8. 4091. The current group of eight full-timers all did games, as did Clare Aubry, ShaRae Mitchell, Blanca Burns and Jenna Reneau. Im so happy for you.. She also has five years of high school officiating experience in her home state. Organize, control, distribute and measure all of your digital content. 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.. She played through college and worked her way up the high school, college . WNBA. WNBA 2019: Points of Education (Part 1) Under scrutiny from her first tipoff, Palmer instantly proved she could withstand the grumbling and ref . 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. 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). Off the court, Moyer-Gleich likes to spend time outdoors with her family, plan events and take photographs. Holtkamp-Sterling has become a big sister figure to the other women in the program. Those inside the program aren't the only ones seeing this progress anymore, either. The three prominent distinctions among the NBA Referees are entry-level referees or rookies, referees for the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and senior-level referees. Still, there's unanimous agreement that without the groundwork laid by the two trendsetters before them, the path would have been rockier. But again, thats counting. "There's no reason why we shouldn't have more women as officials, coaches and basketball executives in our league," Silver said. According to Career Trend, those who officiate WNBA games earn a salary of $180,000 per year to start. There won't be a number anymore. She dedicated herself completely to the game, but also to earning respect just like anyone else. Six women referees took part in the . Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Scott credits her colleagues for helping to guide her throughout this first year as a full-time ref. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. February 4, 2021. Kantner's NBA career was the shorter of the two, spanning until 2002 when she was released by the league. "[The NBA] worked closely with me to make sure that the locker room was where I needed it to be as a nursing mother," Holtkamp-Sterling said. The hiring of Holtkamp-Sterling (the "Sterling" comes from Jonathan, her husband and fellow NBA referee) was a first domino of sorts with Silver's modern NBA, after almost two decades of no upward movement for women referees. I wanted to do as many games as I could to prepare me to work in the NBA. Now were bearing the fruit of this.. For female basketball referees, men's college basketball may be the bleakest of frontiers. By accessing any information beyond this page, you agree to abide by the Privacy Policy / Your California Privacy Rights and Terms of Use. Individual game assignments for referees are posted at NBA.com/official at approximately 9 a.m. In recent years there has been a massive uptick in female referees in the NBA. Those whispers Holtkamp-Sterling would hear as she entered the league years later? The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. rights reserved. In 2014, Lauren Holtkamp-Sterling became the first woman hired as a full-time NBA official in nearly two decades. McCutchen said the league has no data indicating referees are challenged more or less based on gender. Moyer-Gleich played basketball at Millersville University in Pennsylvania. Before joining the big-league ranks, Natalie Sago was a ref for the G-League and WNBA. According to Career Trend, those who officiate WNBA games earn a salary of $180,000 per year to start. He . 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. View. Rules, interpretations, mechanics, philosophies and other information may or may not be correct for the current year. Luka Doncic Arguing With The Female Ref Fouling In Love What? Flores and Mosher join Lauren Holtkamp-Sterling, Simone Jelks, Ashley Moyer-Gleich, Natalie Sago, Jenna Schroeder and Danielle Scott as women at the full-time NBA referee level. And to this day, I dont think people know that thats actually a thing.. Before we do, check out a compilation video of every technical foul handed out last season. Its just fantastic. Because the Women's National Basketball Association is less successful than the NBA and has a shorter season, WNBA officials earn significantly less than NBA officials. Who is the player of the year in every women's college basketball conference? "It's needed for women in this industry that already have a lot of things going against them. It'll just be the norm.". All Flores has spent nine seasons in the G League and 10 in the WNBA, and is also an accomplished women's college referee with two Final Fours on her resume. College basketball referees for D-1 men's NCAA games make over $2,000 per game and they can work over 70 games per season, so their annual salary for working the NCAA season is approximately $150,000 the same as an entry-level ref in the NBA. Please logout and login again. The six full-timers are Natalie Sago, Ashley Moyer-Gleich, Simone Jelks, Jenna Schroeder, Danielle Scott and Holtkamp-Sterling (married to fellow NBA ref Jonathan Sterling). As it turns out, there are three categories that NBA referees fall into. In the WNBA, an entry-level referee makes an average of $16,000 a year, or $425 per game . 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). And as the first to reach this plateau since, she's turned around and served a similarly important role for those following her. They all worked between 20 and 26 games as non-staff referees last season. 2020. It was that support and recognition that both of us were sort of in the space that women arent typically in and that we were sort of bolstered by seeing each other there, doing the work, said Holtkamp-Sterling. These were different times. However, her journey was slightly different from some of her female counterparts. 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? copyright 2023 National Basketball Referees Association. The NBA has always been a league that prides itself on giving equal opportunity to everyone. Sago, 31, and Schroeder, 35, were two of the three people on the officiating crew . WNBA 2020: Points of Education (Part 1) But now, in 2021-22, the NBA has six female referees on its full-time officiating staff, the most ever. Jelks views Palmer as a key mentor in multiple ways. Looking for a way to soothe anxious nerves, she called Kantner before her first WNBA game, then again before her first NBA preseason game. While top NBA stars such as LeBron James and Steph Curry pocket about $38 million to $40 million annually, the highest-paid WNBA stars don't even broach half a million. #NBA #NBAReferees twitter.com/i/web/status/1. The names she's invoking are Violet Palmer and Dee Kantner, the first full-time women referees to ever work in the NBA. Senior-level referees are the best of the best. Earning a high school diploma or GED is the minimum education requirement for referees across league levels. "Kids have to see that things are possible," Jelks said. Camp Hill resident Ashley Moyer-Gleich is in her second month as the fourth-ever female NBA 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. ncaa home, women, post season history: men, women 2022-23 2021-22 2020-21 2019-20 2018-19 NCAA Women Referee Leaders. 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. Those who followed them still faced real challenges. Women officials now make up 8% of the 75-member officiating staff as the league continues its focus on hiring the most talented and hardest-working referees in the business. 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. 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. Not Available. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. 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. After playing college basketball in Millersville, Pennsylvania, Ashley Moyer decided to pursue a career in officiating. All parties involved can talk about themes like equality until they're blue in the face, but the truest mark of that state is actually when it's not a constant discussion topic. ET. Top 5 NBA female referees in the game today 1) Lauren Holtkamp . Long before she was hired in the NBA, the Flint, Mich., native didnt know that refereeing could be a full-time job. Erica Ayala. Female NBA Referees Are Becoming a Normal Part of the Game. Schroeder said she'd love to see her daughter take up officiating when she grows up -- although she joked her wife, Anderson, may represent the more lucrative career path as a physician. -. And 25 of the 63 referees in the G-League are women. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. The women that are coming on the scene now are helping us -- we're not helping them.".