Quickly she learned that, by then, the NBA and WNBA had developed a mutual culture of inclusion for gay and lesbian people. The people on the lost sub could afforded to pay$250,000 for that stupid trip. My mom would drag me and my brother to his games when we were little. We thought NBA teams should run WNBA teams.. Honorees 11-20: Outsports Power 100, the most influential LGBTQ people in sports. Everyone. Having that memory of my first game and having those girls take time out of their busy schedules, away from their families to be there and support me, Ill never forget that it was really truly incredible. I played in high school. The most common ethnicity of basketball referees is White (68.8%), followed by Hispanic or Latino (11.2%), Black or African American (8.0%) and Unknown (6.7%). 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.. When I got in the G League, Violet [Palmer] had retired and Lauren was the only woman in the NBA at the time. Then, five years later, there was one: Palmer. 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. I can remember walking out on the court and it almost brought tears to my eyes, seeing them in the stands and cheering for me. 23) and Rayan Rupert (at No. I started playing as a kid and played up through high school. When I couldnt play in college and I was able to pick up reffing as a side gig that was awesome. I tell them that Im carrying the family torch now. I graduated in 2009 during the financial crisis. Were backing the NBA, really trying to push the boundaries in hiring women, gender equality, and making those opportunities available for women to become professional NBA referees. 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. I had a college scholarship to play basketball, so thankfully I didnt have to pay for schooling. Despite this, Jelks says that players and coaches must be held to the same standard across the board even if she as a ref may be criticized. Now, I just get to work at it thats great. And as McCutchen points out, 42% of G League referees are women. My dad played basketball. How do we make people more comfortable being their authentic selves? Silver was also aiming for a particular ratio of male to female NBA referees. You can see this years honorees by clicking below: For more feature stories about this years honorees, visit our full 2023 Outsports Power 100 editorial collection. But Holtkamp-Sterling believes shes the one paying homage and praises Palmer and Kantner for breaking barriers as the first two women officials in the NBA. I looked back at that moment and it was like a new chapter in my life. And he effectively quieted the entire league and said, were a league that appeals to everyone. Being on the basketball court was one of the few environments where I truly felt comfortable and actually felt accepted. It was in Oklahoma City and a bunch of the girls Natalie, Jenna, and several of the G League female referees all came down to the game. She also worked 16 regular-season NBA games as a non-staff official during the 2019-20 season., Congrats to USC alum Simone Jelks!A Trojan on the rise in the referee world!#FightOn https://t.co/5rieyqh30G. Then, I just worked my way up college D-III to D-II to D-I. I think when I got hired, that had its own sort of significance and same for all the women after me. Its a profession with constant criticism. I also knew that coaching was not what I was interested in. Those NBA teams brought attitudes about gays and lesbians that were at times fearful their presence in the WNBA might scare away non-LGBTQ fans. NEW YORK NBA G League referees John Conley . "The NBA feels very strongly that this should be a meritocracy. I had a college scholarship to play basketball, so thankfully I didnt have to pay for schooling. I came into my own and the league welcomed me with open arms., Jemison said the commitment to inclusion in the league office has bled over into this Bucks culture, where we now have mentors of the LGBT community working in the organization.. Void in ONT. In 2021, women earned 95% of what men earned. As it turns out, there are three categories that NBA referees fall into. My mom would take us in our car seats and we would sit there and watch. Basketball played a very substantial role in my life. As Outsports motto says, Courage is contagious. With the number of out LGBTQ people in the NBA and WNBA providing example, and the leagues presence on the inaugural Outsports Power 100, the numbers are sure to increase. When I got old enough to go by myself with him and sit by myself in the stands, I did that. I would say life was more of a challenge in deciding which path I want to take because I was focused on being a doctor at the time and then this fell into my lap. Non-staff officials in the NBA work preseason and regular season games for development, with a chance to be selected to referee NBA games. The first time Jenna Schroeder was booed by 40,000 NBA fans as she exited the court, she knew she had finally made it. 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. I started playing basketball at a very young age. NBA commissioner Adam Silver not only wants half of all new referees joining the league to be women, but he would also like to see teams hire female coaches. Currently, there are six female referees who work NBA games, up from one, Lauren Holtkamp, seven years ago. Scott: I tend to be pretty hard on myself when I make mistakes. Knowing that I could have a career in sport in a way that they represented, their representation showed me that. And if it were male officials, you wouldnt call them sensitive.. But, this group of eight is proof the tides are changing. It is the abilities. The roster was announced on Wednesday by none other than President Biden, the First Lady and some notable friends including Taylor Swift, Megan . Who is the NFL's female referee? She also has 13 years of officiating experience in college basketball and referred in the 2021 Women's National Championship Game. . What is your fondest NBA officiating memory? How the NBA and WNBA created sports premier culture of inclusion, Outsports Power 100 honors the most powerful and influential LGBTQ people in sports. Jenna Schroeder: I started playing when I was about 10 years old. What is the biggest challenge that youve had to face in becoming an NBA official? Its great. I didnt really use my degree. I live in Detroit and I was never there for three years traveling. Meet Sarah Thomas, the only woman official in the NFL in 2020 Tadd Haislop 7 min read Shortly after she was officially hired by the NFL in 2015, Sarah Thomas. It marked the first time in NBA history two women were officiating in the same game. Be the first one to comment on this story. Finding a path that I was more interested in than coaching, which was officiating. This hasnt been accidental. The 3-time WNBA champion talks about her role with the Pelicans and the WNBA's role in the social justice movement. My mom was with me when I got the call. Depending on experience and how far into the playoffs they're working, officials can reportedly receive a per game bonus of anywhere between $800 to $5,000. My dad just retired from basketball officiating last season and he refereed for 35 years. In 1994, FIFA appointed four female referees were appointed to the international FIFA list (Denoncourt, 2017). Whats the impact of having someone like Jemison the rare gay Black woman with a seat at the table in a front office in American sports, who has also worked in all of the Big Four mens pro sports being so out and proud? The 2023 Outsports Power 100 includes incredible individuals across sports with a variety of roles. Holtkamp, Moyer-Gleich, and Sago were the only three female referees that were active in the NBA for. Menu. Both no longer officiate but Lauren Holtkamp, the third full-time female official in the NBA, is still active. (Suggested reading: Floyd Mayweather interested in buying NBA team). Its important to enjoy all the ebbs and flows of your journey. All we have to do is find the best referees and open our eyes to half of the population.. I played in high school. They notice when we do a good job that was just awesome. Today, thanks to so many public and internal efforts, the leagues are awash with out LGBTQ employees. We could afford the younger people who looked a lot more like our society than those other leagues.. The NBA has had six female full-time officials, starting with the historic hiring of Violet Palmer and Dee Kantner in 1997. . This is a very thankless job, and so I think the biggest challenge is to every day realize your self-worth, remind yourself that you are enough and that you are capable. He explained that even if I didnt get into refereeing, I could just take the test and it could be a resume builder when I did start applying for coaching jobs. What about Bradley Beal in Phoenix? Lauren Holtkamp-Sterling is the longest-tenured ref of the group, having begun her NBA career in 2016. I ran into my parents coming off of the plane and just kind of looking at them en route to attend their daughters first NBA game was very sentimental for me. She is one of the very rare people to have worked in the NFL, NHL, MLB, and now the NBA as the EVP of Business Operations for the Milwaukee Bucks, winning an NBA title with the team in 2021. 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. And despite having to transcend this gendered space, the officials recognize that the job of refereeing is not actually gendered work. Cheryl Flores looks on during a game between the Detroit Pistons and Miami Heat at FTX Arena on December 06, 2022 in Miami, Florida. Official Simone Jelks talks about her journey from player to official and how her competitive spirit drove her to be the best! Gambling Problem? Natalie Sago and Jenna Schroder as the league's six female officials. Jemison thinks there is still a lot of work to be done on those issues. I was just a toddler on the sidelines watching him play. I could hear them. I was able to share the moment with her and that just meant the world to me. I feel the WNBA does a great job supporting LGBTQ families.. 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. Natalie Sago: Basketballs played a huge role in my life. It seemed an outlier at the time, yet across NBA and WNBA teams there are today many, many dozens if not hundreds of out staffers. Capable of handling some plays in secondary area of coverage. Floyd Mayweather interested in buying NBA team, Blake Griffin trolled by YouTuber courtside. And certainly people like Bonnie, people like Rick Welts, like Jason Collins ultimately Adam Silver and David Stern this has always been a place where people felt comfortable and able to be who they were when they were ready.. - Quora Answer (1 of 4): Violet Palmer was the first female NBA referee. We were staffed in that moment of time where the old white guys were fully entrenched in baseball and football, Welts said. Raven Jemison has witnessed the inclusion first-hand. 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 nice that we could hang out after the game and go for dinner, and just really get to celebrate. In 2020 when I spoke to the Sacramento Kings, I was surprised to learn the team had seven out employees. All that self-affirmation has finally come full circle. Adam and I could have wonderful conversations about the work environments we were in, and being gay in this kind of industry and what we could accomplish being out and the ability to share that.. When I think back on my coaches as an early athlete, there were just some incredible coaches who are also women. 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. The NBAs roster of female referees continues to grow. From there, I was refereeing womens college [games] and I got into the NBA G League, then the WNBA, and then the NBA two years ago. I have a lot to be grateful for when it comes to basketball. The NBA was first, with Jason Collins in 2013. We were very surprised because we knew it had never been done before then we just continue to work our [game] schedule. The players and the coaches when I came in this is my third season now they were literally welcoming Natalie [Sago] and me when we got hired together with open arms, and definitely seemed very supportive and encouraging. The NBA's roster of female referees continues to grow. Cheryl Flores refereed 12 regular season games during the 2021-22 NBA season. I felt very comfortable being out on the court and thats just a testament to having always played. From the time I got into the G League, I refereed the G League in the winter and I was still reffing womens college. While I was playing basketball in high school and college, I was refereeing on off days. 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. Still, there have been bumps in the road. I did my first game fine. I was just a toddler on the sidelines watching him play. I always thought when I got done playing, I would coach. Ive been in the gym since I was born. 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.. 5% of all basketball referees are LGBT. When I got old enough to go by myself with him and sit by myself in the stands, I did that. 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. Professional NBA Referees generally take 7000 USD for a single match & $9000 for playoffs. I was literally on the road for three years straight. With more female referees officiating games, fans have begun to wonder if there's a pay gap between female referees and male referees. We put a lot behind it, Behrens said. You can e-mail himhere, findhis archive hereandfollow him on Twitter. Schroeder: I dont think people understand the work we do off the floor and actually what it takes to get into the NBA. This season has seen a record 7 female referees officiate at least one game in the NBA. It was just the way things kind of worked out in my path going from being an official as a high school part-time job to retiring from playing as an athlete to picking up officiating. Knowing that I could have a career in sport in a way that they represented, their representation showed me that. Shortly after, Lippard and Welts who had heard about each other in whispers about gay men in the league forged a friendship, and Welts became an important mentor for Lippard. The league recently announced the promotion of Simone Jelks to full-time official status for the 2020-21 season. My first NBA game was at Golden State. After I got done playing college softball, I moved back home to St. Louis and finished my teaching degree. Add four from the list of nine part-timers and the share of female refs bumps to 12%. "All we have to do is find the best referees and open our eyes to half of the population.". I finally was like, all right, let me just give this a shot. With her promotion, Jelks became the seventh full-time female NBA referee in league history, with Dee Kantner and Violet Palmer as pioneers when the league hired them in 1997. Simone Jelks is the NBA's 7th full-time female referee. Official Danielle Scott talks about her love of officiating and how shes gained courage and confidence as an NBA referee. NBA officials Simone Jelks (left) and Ashley Moyer-Gleich working a game together in Chicago. 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. However, women referees face different kinds of scrutiny than their male counterparts. The referees had to be ready and so did the players, coaches and fans. But again, thats counting. Lauren Holtkamp-Sterling officiates a game on the left, while Simone Jelks talks with Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich during a game. The NBA now has eight . Violet Palmer. At that point, I was 24 and had played basketball for at least 20, 22 years. The most common ethnicity of referees is White (68.8%), followed by Hispanic or Latino (11.2%), Black or African American (8.0%) and Unknown (6.7%). Official release October 13, 2022 9:36 AM NEW YORK - NBA G League referees Cheryl Flores, Robert Hussey, Matt Kallio and Dannica Mosher have been promoted to full-time NBA staff officials. Palmer retired after 18 seasons while Kantner was fired in 2002. McCutchen has long said that the NBA will hire the best people to fill the job, regardless of gender. 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. 43), the source said nothing has . I first started loving basketball probably before I could even walk and I was going around the playground with him. My mom, she tailors my uniforms and makes me look good out there. In this particular business, thats one of the loftiest goals of diversity: Sameness. As far as challenges on the floor, I havent really gotten there cause Im kind of new, but basketball is just basketball. After seeing an overwhelmingly. I also knew that coaching was not what I was interested in. Thats pretty remarkable. Her father was a high school basketball and college ref, and she spent a lot of her early days traveling with him. Could this have come sooner? And that is where the NBA has been busy in recent years. At a young age, I knew that it was something that I was super passionate about. She is the leagues longest-tenured woman official. I feel like women, especially women in male-dominated industries, always in the back of our heads, theres a little space, no matter how well we are doing, like Am I good enough? and the answer will always be yes.. And he left everyone with clear perspective and direction.. 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. Ive played it. Its just been an absolute blast working with and learning from everyone. 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. The NBA now has eight women at the full-time referee level, the most the league has ever had at one time. She was really great because she took a majority of us under her wing. I cant wait until they can travel again with me. We have to focus. I wasnt pointing. The training is just so extensive and its intense on the front end. He said, Hey, come to our meeting, lets see if youd like this and I did, I loved it. A lot of assumptions we made were horribly wrong. It was a wrap from there. Her six years in the G-League propelled her to the big stage. You grew up in the gym.. We knew we were going to work together when the schedule came out on Christmas Eve. And share on social media with #Outsports100. visit our full 2023 Outsports Power 100 editorial collection, NBA funded and shot a PSA with Grant Hill and Jared Dudley, Welts then the President and CEO of the Suns came out publicly as gay, Bill Kennedy, too, broke ground by coming out as a gay NBA referee in 2015, Pride shirts representing every team in the league, first pro sports leagues to have a float in a Pride parade, every major sports league followed the NBAs lead, pulling the 2017 All-Star game from Charlotte, He was a key voice in that decision process, Las Vegas Aces General Manager Natalie Williams, Joe Altenau has had an impact in the NHL and is now an out exec with New York Road Runners, Draymond Green has 3 NBA free agency suitors hoping to steal him from Warriors, John Collins traded to Jazz to finally end NBAs longest-running rumor, NBA Draft team grades 2023: 8 clubs earn an A for total draft night hauls, The 9 best fits in the 2023 NBA Draft, ranked, Kevin Durant invaded Twitter Spaces to defend himself as top-5 NBA player, Wemby is HYPED for Texas breakfast tacos, proving wisdom beyond his years. : Its just challenging to get to this level. So, the NBA has quadrupled the number of female refs on their roster over the past 25 years. Starting from a list of 250 out LGBTQ people in sports, Outsports has chosen those with the most influence. I look at growing up, playing YMCA, and then all through middle school and high school. I would say life was more of a challenge in deciding which path I want to take because I was focused on being a doctor at the time and then this fell into my lap. Certainly millions of people know of Collins, the first active out gay athlete in any of the Big Four Leagues. Its one of our biggest days to get people to come to the game. I rode with my dad to a lot of his games. Michaela Gilmer is an Interactive Producer for NBA.com. 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.. Knowing that it was one of my first games that somebody noticed that I was doing OK. That was pretty cool. See terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. So in 2011 the NBA funded and shot a PSA with Grant Hill and Jared Dudley talking about the need to eliminate casually homophobic language from sports and society. Ashley Moyer-Gleich talks with Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell. As far as challenges on the floor, I havent really gotten there cause Im kind of new, but basketball is just basketball. She was doing what we all wanted to do. ONSIDE USWNT's roster announcement and their historic World Cup quest. [2] 2022-23 NBA season, there are 74 staff officials and 8 non-staff officials: [3] Staff officials Ray Acosta, #54 Yet even before the creation of that LGBTQ ERT, Behrens, now the President, Social Responsibility & Player Programs, felt it was important to find ways to embrace LGBTQ employees and make them feel welcome. The NBA league office continues to increase its racial and gender diversity with more than 37 percent people of color and more than 39 percent women. Palmer officiated 919 NBA games before retiring at the age of 52 and became the first woman to helm an NBA playoff game in 2006. Theres so much pressure. She spends most of her free time digesting film or talking with her coworkers about ways to improve her craft when she's not spending time with her family. Welts was working in the league office at the time and remembers conversations about the presence of lesbians for a fanbase that just saw President Bill Clinton sign the Defense of Marriage Act and Dont Ask Dont Tell. At a young age, I knew that it was something that I was super passionate about. Youre so close and you cant be like, No, thanks. Im not going to do that. It was just absolutely blowing up. But neither supply nor demand were what they are now. I think back on both the early representation of women in sport, in my life, and coupled with the opportunity to show up and just try officiating at a time where there werent a lot of women represented in the same way that were seeing movement now towards that. Kantner and Violet Palmer joined the NBA's officiating staff in 1997. Ashley Moyer-Gleich has been a full-time referee in the NBA since 2018. So, yeah, my dad has been a very big role model for me in this business. Ive loved it. A lot of the people think the biggest challenge is the players or the coaches that were not going to be accepted. 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. I was learning the sport that I thought I knew all over again from a completely different lens that I absolutely loved.
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