ET. 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. While that was the most overtly negative experience Holtkamp-Sterling recalls from her career, it wasn't the only one. Tramel: Referee Amy Bonner earns ultimate compliment in historic debut season in Big 12. 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. She competed in the Sweet 16 of the of the 2010 Division II NCAA Tournament. The names she's invoking are Violet Palmer and Dee Kantner, the first full-time women referees to ever work in the NBA. The NBA's roster of female referees continues to grow. I would love for you guys to be a part of it.' 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. "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.'". I had absolutely no idea you could be a referee and make a living out of it. 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. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Palmer recalls all the media hubbub that surrounded her and Kantner when they entered the league; when Holtkamp-Sterling did the same 17 years later, there was hardly so much as a press release -- something Palmer delighted in seeing. When she retired in 2016 after her 18-season career, it was back to one: Lauren Holtkamp. We are excited for them to have reached this milestone in their careers.. Im so happy for you.. These goals are attainable now in ways they just couldn't have been even a generation prior. 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.. 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. It's needed that we strengthen each other emotionally, and just have that good support team.". Because I've seen it done before.". With the . Were looking for the best referees, McCutchen said. 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. 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. Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. 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). Kicking off the list is Lauren Holtkamp. However, her journey was slightly different from some of her female counterparts. The Australian was the first female to officiate the A-League series in 2015. #NBA #NBAReferees twitter.com/i/web/status/1. "Dee did it in a day where I'm sure she didn't have that support.". 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. The league is ahead of its peers here, although progress must be viewed relatively. Those changes include separate dedicated locker rooms for women officials. By TIM REYNOLDS October 18, 2021. Cheryl Flores and Dannica Mosher have been promoted to the level of full-time staff officials, the NBA said Thursday. The first category of referees we're going to be looking at is WNBA referees. 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. I think when I got hired, that had its own sort of significance and same for all the women after me. February 4, 2021. WNBA 2020 Playoffs: Points of Education (Part 1) 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 . 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. WNBA referee Kevin Fahy is facing criticism for his extravagant ejection of Chicago Sky center Astou Ndour. This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. Browse 1,151 wnba referees stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. That doesn't bother me, because we're all just referees and we have to be able to co-mingle. As WWE's New Day would say, shame! 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. Natalie Sago didnt watch much NBA basketball growing up. Fifteen of the largest college conferences paid their male referees on average 22% more than female referees in . Before becoming an NBA referee, Holtkamp played college basketball at Southwest Missouri State. Individual game assignments for referees are posted at NBA.com/official at approximately 9 a.m. Was the buffer Palmer and Kantner created an impenetrable one? "Her advice is always authentic.". The other five Sage, Schroeder, Simone Jelks, Lauren Holtkamp-Sterling and Ashley Moyer-Gleich are active in the league today and among . Natalie Sago and Jenna Schroeder have made NBA history as the first female referees to work on the same court. She also has five years of high school officiating experience in her home state. 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. Tap into Getty Images' global scale, data-driven insights, and network of more than 340,000 creators to create content exclusively for your brand. Those who followed them still faced real challenges. In its . 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. Career Explorer Guide also estimated . First-year NBA official Danielle Scott views her rookie season the same as any player entering the league would: an adjustment. Be the first one to comment on this story. 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. I thought that was awesome. More than anything, it's that normalcy that today's women NBA referees aspire to. But now, in 2021-22, the NBA has six female referees on its full-time officiating staff, the most ever. Well-known referees on the high end are individuals like Tony Brothers and of course, Scott Foster who Chris Paul is all too familiar with. "Kids have to see that things are possible," Jelks said. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. WNBA 2019: Points of Education (Part 1) 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 . Floyd Mayweather interested in buying NBA team, Blake Griffin trolled by YouTuber courtside. Hussey has worked five G League seasons and two in the WNBA. copyright 2023 National Basketball Referees Association. 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.. Playoff officials are selected by the WNBA Referee Operations management team based on three specific criteria throughout the season: WNBA Referee Operations' graded rankings, play-calling accuracy and team feedback. 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. . 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. Even while on maternity leave, shes locked into games every single night, which now she gets to do with her son by her side. Simone Jelks worked her first game in the NBA in 2019. In 2003, she was the main referee for the 2002-03 Women's DFB-Pokal final between 1. It's not a big deal anymore," she remembers thinking. 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. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Officiating is ostensibly the main subject, and certainly a common thread. None of it bothered me. As of last season, 11 different women were employed in assistant coaching positions around the NBA. The entry-level referees are paid around $600 per match. 7:30 PM ET WNBA. 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.. And as McCutchen points out, 42% of G League referees are women. 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. And Silver . Entry-level NBA referees earn $250,000 per year as "rookies." In the WNBA, an entry-level referee makes an average of $16,000 a year, or $425 per game . These were different times. San Diego State. In 1997, Violet Palmer and Dee Kantner became the first women to serve as referees in the NBA. 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. 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. They allow the league's scouts to evaluate larger swaths of the population and identify greater cumulative talent. "[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. 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. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". "This isn't, 'Let's go out and do social work,'" Monty McCutchen, NBA's vice president of referee development and training, said. 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. FFC Frankfurt and FCR 2001 Duisburg. The NBAs roster of female referees continues to grow. 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). -. Earn a high school diploma. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". While Palmer and Kantner are no longer working for the NBA, their legacies live on. She served as a WNBA referee in 2018. The first female NBA referees. After finishing up her studies in physical education at the University of Missouri-St. Lois decided to make her way into a career of reffing basketball. "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. "There's no reason why we shouldn't have more women as officials, coaches and basketball executives in our league," Silver said. $425. With more female referees officiating games, fans have begun to wonder if there's a pay gap between female referees and male referees. Natalie Sago was a ref for the G-League and WNBA. And despite having to transcend this gendered space, the officials recognize that the job of refereeing is not actually gendered work. Erica Ayala. She's taken it to a new level. 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. View. 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 . 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. A multi-dimensional, hard-working woman, Jelks played collegiate basketball at USC and is a certified foreign language K-12 educator. McCutchen has long said that the NBA will hire the best people to fill the job, regardless of gender. 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. Danielle Scott and Angelica Suffren officiated an NBA Summer League game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat on Tuesday evening. :-). But no one, not by a long shot, thinks the work is done. "There are a lot of things I want to say about the officiating . Palmer and Kantner smashed this barrier; those who came after them are trying to stomp on its remains. Scott credits her colleagues for helping to guide her throughout this first year as a full-time ref. She told The Daily Telegraph she almost quit officiating due to A-holes in the crowd yelling derogatory things to her. "Like Vice President Harris, she worked her way to the . Lauren Holtkamp-Sterling is the NBAs longest-tenured female official. Last up on the list is Jenna Schroeder. Jul 6, 2018, 01:32 PM EDT. Its just fantastic. Women's Champ Week predictions: Which teams will win the auto bids in all 32 conferences? These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". G League referee ShaRae Mitchell becomes the 15th woman in NBA history picked to work a regular-season 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. 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. Moyer-Gleich officiated three seasons in the NBA G League, including the 2018 playoffs. Holtkamp-Sterling, now 40, had just finished officiating a youth boy's game as the solo referee. Women officials are often generalized as being too sensitive when they dont tolerate or permit certain forms of disrespect on the court. In 1997, Violet Palmer and Dee Kantner became the first women . This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Referee Michael Oliver, however, waved play on and the VAR, Darren England, saw no reason to ask him to look again at his decision. For female basketball referees, men's college basketball may be the bleakest of frontiers. The Getty Images design is a trademark of Getty Images. Other projections put the base salary for new referees somewhere around $250,000. Female NBA Referees Are Becoming a Normal Part of the Game. Furthermore, a lot of WNBA referees spend their off-season refereeing Division I women's (and men's) college basketball games. The 15 referees assigned to the 2021 WNBA Playoffs are below: Copyright 2023 NBA Media Ventures, LLC. 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. Six women referees took part in the . He was promoted to referee in 2006 and has overseen gameday officiating crews since. "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. Please try again. The first time Jenna Schroeder was booed by 40,000 NBA fans as she exited the court, she knew she had finally made it. 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. Her currency? According to Career Trend, those who officiate WNBA games earn a salary of $180,000 per year to start. According to the National Basketball Association (NBA), this is the first time ever that two female referees officiated the same NBA game. The salary slab of referees is decided as per their experience. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. In 1997, Violet Palmer and Dee . Michaela Gilmer is an Interactive Producer for NBA.com. 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? She also enjoys Bikram yoga and swimming. RotoWire considers the best player values in Yahoo fantasy leagues for Friday's 10-game slate. All rights reserved. Our paths are all different but we all got to the same end goal.. We won't send you spam. "I feel very grateful that there were people before me to have experienced the initial pushback of what it's like being a female in a male-driven world," Jelks said. Instead, the Farmington, Mo., native spent most of her time traveling with her dad, a high school and collegiate basketball referee for 35-plus years, to all of his games and tournaments. Currently, there are six female referees who work NBA games, up from one, Lauren Holtkamp, seven years ago. 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 cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Referee, the world's original sports officiating magazine, educates, challenges and inspires officials at all levels. I was totally fan-girling. Flores has spent nine seasons in the G League and 10 in the WNBA, and is also an accomplished women's college referee with . Rather, they've tried to go further. Boger, 67, joined the NFL in 2004 as a line judge. With the second half of the 2021-22 season well underway, shes now starting to develop those relationships as she gets more reps across the league. The NBA promoted Danielle Scott to a full-time official on Monday, making her the sixth woman on the league's current staff. Facebook. 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. 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. Durant, a four-time scoring champion, now sets his sights on Hakeem Olajuwon in 12th place. 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. Danielle Scott decided to join the family business. NBA adds 4 new full-time referees, including 2 female NBA referees . THE FIRST NBA INDIAN ORIGIN REFEREES JOURNEY FROM PRE-MED TO PRE-REF, NBRA ANNOUNCES RATIFICATION OF AGREEMENT FOR G LEAGUE START OF SEASON, While Turners arms are vertical, he is jumping A to B into the path of Brown. 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. Legitimate acceptance has come in waves. It would quickly give way not only to an increase in gender diversity among officials, but to an inspiring tale of women empowerment and mentorship at the highest levels of a traditionally male field -- one full of locker room anecdotes, weekly Skype chats, group birthday vacations and a number of challenges. As a proud Black and LGBTQ woman, Palmer especially was a barrier-breaker in more ways than one. Access the best of Getty Images with our simple subscription plan. 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. 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. Schroeder explains the disparities within the NCAA when women officials were not being paid the same as the men and how that growing theme troubled her. NBA Undergraduate Advisory Committee Guide, Proficient in Referee and Umpire positions, High-level play calling, partnering skills, and tools for handling any game situation, including interpersonal communication, Understands the importance of extending into their secondary area of coverage, with accuracy, Proficient in all Umpire position requirements, Effectively the glue for a crew through consistency, teamwork, and communication - makes partners better by carrying a larger portion of the crews load than an Umpire, Capable of handling some plays in secondary area of coverage, Ability to recognize and appropriately manage shifts in game conditions (intensity, emotions, decorum, style of play etc. R denotes rookie. To order copies of According to Career Trend, WNBA referees earn a base salary of $180,000 per year. Those inside the program aren't the only ones seeing this progress anymore, either. They were audible conversations for Palmer and Kantner, and sometimes more. Her husband, Johnee Gleich, is currently an official in the NCAA. Five women officials is a step up from one or two, but still represents a minuscule percentage of the league's 65 total referees. Of course," Palmer, who retired from the NBA in 2016, said. Meet Lauren Holtkamp, Ashley Moyer-Gleich, Natalie Sago, and now Jenna Schroeder. In addition, referees are paid bonus money for working the playoffs and NBA Finals. Holtkamp reffed in the G-League for six years before eventually getting the call-up to the big stage. "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 . Not that anyone is counting or, at least, needs to be. MLB umpires rake in an impressive $300,000 annually, and the referees in the NHL receives around $275,000 . Two black women did something this week that no other women have done before: They refereed a professional basketball game together. The NFL pays referees an average of $205,000 per annum. In 2014, Lauren Holtkamp-Sterling became the first woman hired as a full-time NBA official in nearly two decades. All we have to do is find the best referees and open our eyes to half of the population.. Today, Palmer counts men she worked with among her best friends. The women that are coming on the scene now are helping us -- we're not helping them.". Women's Euros. 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. Senior-level referees are the best of the best. Five full-time women in officiating today eclipses the total of the NFL, MLB and NHL combined. And to this day, I dont think people know that thats actually a thing.. Before finally making her way to the league, Schroeder reffed in almost every league imaginable. "And I say that very positively. 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. By. 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. The NBA now has eight women at the full-time referee level, the most the league has ever had at one time. She was blown away recently when a friend referred to her as the "Jackie Robinson of officiating." 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. In his words, all the league had to do was hire the best people for the job. SHARE. As a young girl, the basketball court was one of the only places where Simone Jelks could simply be herself. . Holtkamp-Sterling finds comfort in having close working relationships with other NBA officials. 2023 Getty Images. Today, there are five full-time women referees in the NBA -- the most in the . Since Holtkamp-Sterling, four more women have been hired as full-time NBA referees. Scott has spent much of her first year in the league building rapport with the players and teams. 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. @BrooklynNets at @celtics Republication or distribution of this content is Kantner's NBA career was the shorter of the two, spanning until 2002 when she was released by the league. None of it deterred her -- in fact, quite the opposite. Grow your brand authentically by sharing brand content with the internets creators. 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. Areas like these come to the forefront as the NBA continues to strive for an earned reputation as a progressive organization. In the beginning, back in 1997, there were two: Violet Palmer and Dee Kantner. Shop NEW Women Hooping summer apparel: http://www.womenhooping.com/Support the channel through PAYPAL: paypal.me/womenhoopingORPlay as WNBA players/teams in . This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. 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. They all worked between 20 and 26 games as non-staff referees last season.