Its not uncommon, to be honest with you, Schroeder said with a laugh. Women's College Basketball. NBA adds 4 new full-time referees, including 2 female NBA referees . Facebook. Everything we send is officiating specific because that's all we do. Under scrutiny from her first tipoff, Palmer instantly proved she could withstand the grumbling and ref . (Prior to entering the league, Palmer worked as a referee in NCAA Division I women's basketball.) All that self-affirmation has finally come full circle. 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. 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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). McCutchen said the league has no data indicating referees are challenged more or less based on gender. (Suggested reading: Blake Griffin trolled by YouTuber courtside), Be the first one to comment on this story. expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto "They say I'm the sixth female referee in the NBA," said Schroeder, the sixth woman officially hired as a full-time NBA referee. Several of the full-timers are close friends off the court. Legitimate acceptance has come in waves. Professional referees in the National Basketball Association are divided into three distinctions: Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), entry-level and Senior. 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). @BrooklynNets at @celtics 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. Although she considers herself a basketball junkie, the former collegiate softball player is also a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan and follows the sport closely. She served as a WNBA referee in 2018. Be the first one to comment on this story. As our numbers are increasing, that sort of noteworthiness is becoming more about this collective experience and collective momentum that is here and thats just really, really rewarding.. 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. 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. According to Career Trend, those who officiate WNBA games earn a salary of $180,000 per year to start. After playing college basketball in Millersville, Pennsylvania, Ashley Moyer decided to pursue a career in officiating. Kallio a native of Edmonton, Alberta has seven years of G League experience, five years of WNBA experience and worked the Tokyo Olympics. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Before finally making her way to the league, Schroeder reffed in almost every league imaginable. Not that anyone is counting or, at least, needs to be. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. And to the people who run the NBA's officiating program, efforts in recent years to open recruiting pathways and increase diversity are far from merely symbolic: They're practical for a league always striving to improve. In the WNBA, an entry-level referee makes an average of $16,000 a year, or $425 per game . She was blown away recently when a friend referred to her as the "Jackie Robinson of officiating." Ashley Moyer-Gleich has been a hooper her whole life. Six women referees took part in the . Its really satisfying to say, We dont have to go and search for women referees, said Monty McCutchen, the NBAs senior vice president, head of referee development and training. I havent worked as hard in my life ever at a job, then Ive worked in the NBA as a referee., Working her first NBA game in 2019, Jelks remembers an unprompted conversation with a player who approached her at center court, shook her hand and said Welcome to the League. 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. Five full-time women in officiating today eclipses the total of the NFL, MLB and NHL combined. Moyer-Gleich recounts similar experiences. These goals are attainable now in ways they just couldn't have been even a generation prior. . Referee, the worlds original sports officiating magazine, educates, challenges and inspires officials at all levels. Its just fantastic. -. I grew up watching her.". SHARE. But Palmer and Kantner's influence on today's generation is immense and undeniable. MLB umpires rake in an impressive $300,000 annually, and the referees in the NHL receives around $275,000 . black lives matter left conservative nfl pride month Trans pro choice gun laws defund the police abortion riots Biden vs Trump America mass shootings blm ant. Now in her third NBA season, she feels this is a whole new grind in comparison to her journey but there is no place else she would rather be. The Associated Press released a study Friday regarding the NCAA referee pay gap. Palmer and Kantner smashed this barrier; those who came after them are trying to stomp on its remains. Looking for a way to soothe anxious nerves, she called Kantner before her first WNBA game, then again before her first NBA preseason game. 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. So my predecessors recognized this and put those seeds into the G League. The league is ahead of its peers here, although progress must be viewed relatively. She officiated games for the B-League, WNBA, Big East, and ACC during her journey to the top. The NBA now has eight . Certainly not. And that is where the NBA has been busy in recent years. ), Aggressively and accurately calls plays in the primary area of responsibility, Responsible for basic mechanics including rotations, positioning and clock and team foul awareness, Strong rules knowledge coupled with contributions to in-game discussions/issues regarding adjudication. When it comes to mentors within the officiating world, though, it all comes back to the paths forged before them. 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. Here's the 12 hottest female referees on the planet. Millions of high-quality images, video, and music options are waiting for you. A record 12 women worked games last season in the NBA, some getting called up from the G League and non-staff levels to help when the leagues officiating roster was decimated by COVID-19. "But did it bother me? Rules, interpretations, mechanics, philosophies and other information may or may not be correct for the current year. WNBA 2021: Points of Education (Part 1) 1. Female referees make a maximum single-game pay of $5,000 if they work the Super Bowl. WNBA 2021: Points of Education (Part 2) The Orlando forward played only 11 games this season after missing two years with a torn ACL. Top 5 NBA female referees in the game today 1) Lauren Holtkamp . Even while on maternity leave, shes locked into games every single night, which now she gets to do with her son by her side. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. She rattles off names: Steve Javie, Jack Nies, Billy Oakes, Joey Crawford. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. This season has seen a record 7 female referees officiate at least one game in the NBA. 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.. "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. Today, we're going to be taking a look at all three categories, how much each make and how a referee can climb their way up to the top level. Katie Patterson. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. Consider a theme like locker rooms. First-year NBA official Danielle Scott views her rookie season the same as any player entering the league would: an adjustment. WNBA 2020 Playoffs: Points of Education (Part 1) Danielle Scott (right) talks with officiating partners during a game. Collect, curate and comment on your files. 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. The first time Jenna Schroeder was booed by 40,000 NBA fans as she exited the court, she knew she had finally made it. Listed is the 2021 WNBA roster of officials, along with their number. Today, there are a total of five full-time women NBA referees, an all-time league high. 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. The 2004 graduate of Brush High School worked 16 regular-season NBA . Touchy, touchy. Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com, Conversations are opinions of our readers and are subject to the, The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star any players who have declared for the 2022 WNBA draftincluding seniors, . WNBA 2019: Points of Education (Part 1) Mosher has . More than anything, it's that normalcy that today's women NBA referees aspire to. Because I've seen it done before.". Female NBA Referees Are Becoming a Normal Part of the Game. Boger is the only referee to retire this offseason. The NBA promoted Danielle Scott to a full-time official on Monday, making her the sixth woman on the league's current staff. Ten women have held that job in league history, with the current eight joining Violet Palmer and Dee Kantner on that list. These officials begin with a salary of $250,000 as first-year referees. 7:30 PM ET After all, she could have stayed in women's basketball, where she was one of the top officials in the college world. Women officials are often generalized as being too sensitive when they dont tolerate or permit certain forms of disrespect on the court. Who is the player of the year in every women's college basketball conference? Including various bonuses and incentives, NBA referees can make a total of $550,000 annually. Who will win nationals? It was early in Holtkamp-Sterling's young basketball officiating career, years before she'd ascend to the NBA level. The other five Sage, Schroeder, Simone Jelks, Lauren Holtkamp-Sterling and Ashley Moyer-Gleich are active in the league today and among . This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. The Australian was the first female to officiate the A-League series in 2015. But no one, not by a long shot, thinks the work is done. 2019 WNBA Inside the Rulebook: Continuation He . And as McCutchen points out, 42% of G League referees are women. Kicking off the list is Lauren Holtkamp. . The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". These were different times. ESPN was unable to obtain comment from Kantner, 60, for this story. Within several years, for the 2014-15 season, Holtkamp-Sterling would become the first woman hired as a full-time NBA official in nearly two decades. Jul 6, 2018, 01:32 PM EDT. It stuck for good, always as a term of endearment. 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 . And not everyone was comfortable. By accessing any information beyond this page, you agree to abide by the Privacy Policy / Your California Privacy Rights and Terms of Use. This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. By. In the second game, the fifth-seeded Phoenix Mercury faces the eighth-seeded New York Liberty at 10 p.m. Active referees are listed in bold. "There are a lot of things I want to say about the officiating . But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Those inside the program aren't the only ones seeing this progress anymore, either. Her expediated journey, as she describes, to the NBA began by navigating a very competitive, male-dominated, officiating industry where she quickly moved up the referee ladder. 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.. Referee assignments are posted at approximately 9:00am ET each game day. Before we do, check out a compilation video of every technical foul handed out last season. The NBA's roster of female referees continues to grow. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Today, she is best known for the memes that surfaced after an encounter she had with Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic. I [grew up] admiring Allen Iverson because I felt like he was just so unapologetically himself, despite what society or what the basketball community thought of him, good or bad, says Jelks. 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. In its . N BA commissioner Adam Silver wants more female referees in the NBA. Referee. They make up 8% of the 75-member officiating staff. The salary slab of referees is decided as per their experience. Palmer broke barriers in 1997 when she became the first female to referee an NBA game. All Rights Reserved. Jelks becomes the seventh female full-time ref in NBA history, with the current five preceded by Dee Kantner and Violet Palmer. may be duplicated, redistributed or manipulated in any form. #NBA #NBAReferees twitter.com/i/web/status/1. 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. "They congratulated me for getting hired and being in the WNBA, I was like, that . This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. No portion of NBA.com Its just that they werent there to be recognized as a referee.. 2023 Getty Images. This is the league's . In 1997, Violet Palmer and Dee . She competed in the Sweet 16 of the of the 2010 Division II NCAA Tournament. presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution After a successful college career, she began working her way up as an official. In recent years there has been a massive uptick in female referees in the NBA. #24 Scott, #77 Lane, #17 Sterling She etched her name into the history books as the first mother to officiate a league game. "Did I hear it? Today, Palmer counts men she worked with among her best friends. . The NBA has always been a league that prides itself on giving equal opportunity to everyone. 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. 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. 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 . The NBAs roster of female referees continues to grow. The current group of eight full-timers all did games, as did Clare Aubry, ShaRae Mitchell, Blanca Burns and Jenna Reneau. He was promoted to referee in 2006 and has overseen gameday officiating crews since. She's taken it to a new level. Women's Euros. We are excited for them to have reached this milestone in their careers.. Long before she was hired in the NBA, the Flint, Mich., native didnt know that refereeing could be a full-time job. . The NBA's roster of female referees continues to grow. "I have always shown great respect for the referees and my career supports me," Ndour wrote on Twitter with a clip of the incident after . 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. "This isn't, 'Let's go out and do social work,'" Monty McCutchen, NBA's vice president of referee development and training, said. "Lauren took about six of us under her wing a couple summers ago," Sago said. But now, in 2021-22, the NBA has six female referees on its full-time officiating staff, the most ever. You really dont know until you sit down and read a rule book, says Moyer-Gleich. I dont notice whether coaches are hands off. I havent seen any [bullying]. Were looking for the best referees, McCutchen said. Similar to Holtkamp, Jelks played basketball at a highly competitive level before entering the world of officiating. The 2022-23 Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team will represent Stanford University during the 2022-23 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. Referee, the world's original sports officiating magazine, educates, challenges and inspires officials at all levels. 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. 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. 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. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". Tramel: Referee Amy Bonner earns ultimate compliment in historic debut season in Big 12. Just as meaningful, though, is the broader support structure that's been created. Strides are being made, even if we're still talking about small percentages of the overall population and more work is clearly needed. I see the competitive spirit of coaches treating everyone the same, he said. By accessing any information beyond this page, you agree to abide by the Privacy Policy / Your California Privacy Rights and Terms of Use. But now, in 2021-22, the NBA has six female referees on its full-time officiating staff, the most ever. In addition, referees are paid bonus money for working the playoffs and NBA Finals. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. Penn Manor wrestler Trinity Mowery taking part in the PIAA junior officiating program referees a match at the Elizabethtown Optimist Club Junior High wrestling tournament at Elizabethtown High . The 15 referees assigned to the 2021 WNBA Playoffs are below: Copyright 2023 NBA Media Ventures, LLC. 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. As WWE's New Day would say, shame! Sago, 31, and Schroeder, 35, were two of the three people on the officiating crew . I had absolutely no idea you could be a referee and make a living out of it. Cheryl Flores and Dannica Mosher have been promoted to the level of full-time staff officials, the NBA said Thursday. In the 1990s, only two female referees managed to work their way to the top. 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. The NBA feels very strongly that this should be a meritocracy. Five women officials is a step up from one or two, but still represents a minuscule percentage of the league's 65 total referees. 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.