With the . Millions of high-quality images, video, and music options are waiting for you. 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 Pennsylvania native has four years of collegiate officiating experience, with stints in the ACC, Atlantic 10, Patriot League and Ivy League, among other conferences. permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com. But neither supply nor demand were what they are now. NFL Female Referees: How Many Are There and What Do They Make Per Game The most recent estimations put NBA referees annual salaries between $180,000 and $550,000. The first female NBA referees Chuck Solomon/Getty Images. Today, Palmer counts men she worked with among her best friends. Be the first one to comment on this story. Could this have come sooner? The NBA's roster of female referees continues to grow. New York Liberty: Walt Hopkins blasts WNBA refs over 'lack of respect' The Orlando forward played only 11 games this season after missing two years with a torn ACL. N BA commissioner Adam Silver wants more female referees in the NBA. As WWE's New Day would say, shame! WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA 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. 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. We are excited for them to have reached this milestone in their careers.. 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. Amy Bonner took up refereeing as a student at the University of Missouri in the early 1990s, calling rec league games, and by 2002 she was officiating games in the NBA's Developmental League. Who is the player of the year in every women's college basketball conference? To order When we see three females working the G League together, we're empowered, we're inspired. All we have to do is find the best referees and open our eyes to half of the population.. "Being able to see myself in them -- they trailblazed that.". 7:30 PM ET Probably. As a young girl, the basketball court was one of the only places where Simone Jelks could simply be herself. 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. While that was the most overtly negative experience Holtkamp-Sterling recalls from her career, it wasn't the only one. And 25 of the 63 referees in the G-League are women. As far as WNBA referees, they make considerably less. In 1997, Violet Palmer and Dee . 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. Touchy, touchy. NEW YORK The WNBA today announced the 15 referees who have earned spots to serve as on-court and/or alternate officials in the WNBA Playoffs 2021 presented by Google. Women's Champ Week predictions: Which teams will win the auto bids in all 32 conferences? Ashley Moyer-Gleich | Offical #13 | NBRA Danielle Scott decided to join the family business. @ESPNNBA She told The Daily Telegraph she almost quit officiating due to A-holes in the crowd yelling derogatory things to her. Today, there are five full-time women referees in the NBA -- the most in the . And despite having to transcend this gendered space, the officials recognize that the job of refereeing is not actually gendered work. The salary slab of referees is decided as per their experience. Sago says she will always praise the WNBA for helping prepare her for the NBA. 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. 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. 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. It was the first time that women officiated regular-season games in an all-male U.S. professional league. We can look at data, say from the 2011-12 season, to get an . 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. Cheryl Flores and Dannica Mosher have been promoted to the level of full-time staff officials, the NBA said Thursday. "Here we are in a very male-dominated space, and the league was very proactive to make sure I had what I needed.". How Much Do NBA Referees Make? - FanBuzz 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. Six women referees took part in the . I'm good, I'll tell you whether or not she's cute!' 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. Everything we send is officiating specific because that's all we do. The NFL pays referees an average of $205,000 per annum. As it turns out, there are three categories that NBA referees fall into. "I said to the guys: 'You can curse! On top of that, shes getting as many reps as she possibly can at various levels and navigating up to four different sets of rulebooks, depending on her schedule. Philadelphia Basketball Referee - NCAA-W D1 Referee Leaders - PhillyRef She's taken it to a new level. It'll just be the norm.". They allow the league's scouts to evaluate larger swaths of the population and identify greater cumulative talent. A Referee Pursues Her Calling in the Men's Game - New York Times In recent years there has been a massive uptick in female referees in the NBA. 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. Career Explorer Guide also estimated . Female NBA referees Cheryl Flores, Dannica Mosher promoted 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. Penn Manor girls wrestler Trinity Mowery also standing her ground as Those whispers Holtkamp-Sterling would hear as she entered the league years later? Luka Doncic Arguing With The Female Ref Fouling In Love What? 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. Holtkamp-Sterling, now 40, had just finished officiating a youth boy's game as the solo referee. 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. Officiating is ostensibly the main subject, and certainly a common thread. NBA Referee Salary: How Much Do NBA Refs Get Paid? List of National Basketball Association referees - Wikipedia "Like Vice President Harris, she worked her way to the . Back then, Palmer hardly had time to consider the significance of her accomplishment. The former Cedar Crest and Millersville guard wasn't planning to be a ref at all but a college . Now, there are five different women officiating games on a nightly basis. 6 NBA officials proving refereeing is not a gendered job In the second game, the fifth-seeded Phoenix Mercury faces the eighth-seeded New York Liberty at 10 p.m. Today, she is best known for the memes that surfaced after an encounter she had with Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic. Shop NEW Women Hooping summer apparel: http://www.womenhooping.com/Support the channel through PAYPAL: paypal.me/womenhoopingORPlay as WNBA players/teams in . Since Holtkamp-Sterling, four more women have been hired as full-time NBA referees. Referee, the world's original sports officiating magazine, educates, challenges and inspires officials at all levels. Natalie Sago says her time officiating games in the WNBA prepared her for an NBA officiating job. Female referees make a maximum single-game pay of $5,000 if they work the Super Bowl. What is NBA Referee Salary in 2022?Latest - CareerExplorer 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.. 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.. Five women officials is a step up from one or two, but still represents a minuscule percentage of the league's 65 total referees. She served as a WNBA referee in 2018. Ashley Moyer-Gleich (gleash) has officiated 110 regular-season games in four seasons as an NBA staff official. All Rights Reserved. Rather, they've tried to go further. I thought that was awesome. 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. Its not based on your gender, race or ethnicity.. Bonner already had started working NCAA Division I women's . This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. I grew up watching her.". 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. She worked the 2013 and 2014 NBA G League Finals and the 2014 WNBA Conference Finals. Whether they are sharing experiences from their rookie seasons or answering any of her questions, she finds comfort knowing she can trust her peers in any situation. Kantner's NBA career was the shorter of the two, spanning until 2002 when she was released by the league. 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. WNBA referees even less. Its just fantastic. The 20 Highest Paid WNBA Players and How Much They Make The NBAs roster of female referees continues to grow. 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 "They say I'm the sixth female referee in the NBA," said Schroeder, the sixth woman officially hired as a full-time NBA referee. 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 . And thats the way our society should be, McCutchen said. Women NBA Referees. "Once [my peers] saw that I was about the business and the work and wanting to learn the craft, they were more than willing to open themselves up to teach me.". Women's . The referees had to be ready and so did the players, coaches and fans. NBA adds 4 new full-time referees, including 2 more women 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. Referee assignments are posted at approximately 9:00am ET each game day. Violet Palmer, first female NBA ref, to marry longtime partner: 'This There's simply a desire to make this world, and others like it, more accessible. The first category of referees we're going to be looking at is WNBA referees. According to Career Trend, those who officiate WNBA games earn a salary of $180,000 per year to start. Boger is the only referee to retire this offseason. To order copies of Below is the 2020-21 NBA roster of officials with each official's uniform number, name, years in the league through last season and hometown. 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. She will return for her 10th season in the WNBA, all of which have been in Phoenix, after she missed last year because of a 10-month detainment in Russia. Female referee Amy Bonner shines in first Big 12 basketball season Rules, interpretations, mechanics, philosophies and other information may or may not be correct for the current year. Palmer broke barriers in 1997 when she became the first female to referee an NBA game. The approval of her peers in the officiating world. Other projections put the base salary for new referees somewhere around $250,000. From coaches to players, we have it all. Top 12 Hottest Female Referees - TheSportster "I'll prove myself amongst them, so they'll look at me as just a referee," Palmer said of her mindset at the time. Two women make NBA history, ref Magic game together In this particular business, thats one of the loftiest goals of diversity: Sameness. Ex-Rainbow Wahine Maj Forsberg makes mark in WNBA landscape as league's Conley was in the G League for seven seasons, Schwab for five and, like Scott, they also worked WNBA games this season. Of course," Palmer, who retired from the NBA in 2016, said. The NBA promoted Danielle Scott to a full-time official on Monday, making her the sixth woman on the league's current staff. 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 would love to see the MLB bring women into the umpire ranks, just as the NBA has demonstrated with its own officials throughout the years. A multi-dimensional, hard-working woman, Jelks played collegiate basketball at USC and is a certified foreign language K-12 educator. 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. NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Committee names game officials for Were capable and not just capable but like beyond excellent and can do the job just as well as our male counterparts.. Holtkamp-Sterling finds comfort in having close working relationships with other NBA officials. Moyer-Gleich tells multiple stories of NBA security staff confusing her for a cheerleader or a referee's wife when she entered the building to officiate games; to varying degrees, her peers have similar experiences. 3 Nick Buchert, Smithfield, Ky., 10. Scott, the daughter of college basketball officials, was promoted Monday to the full-time NBA staff referee roster. NBA hires Danielle Scott, league's 6th female full-time ref NBA adds 4 new full-time referees, including 2 more women Collect, curate and comment on your files. WNBA 2020: Points of Education (Part 1) Referees: Katie Lukanich, Darren Krzesnik, Kyle Bacon. "[He] confronted me and told me I didn't belong there, working that game," Holtkamp-Sterling recounted years later. Copyright 2023 NBA Media Ventures, LLC. any players who have declared for the 2022 WNBA draftincluding seniors, . 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. Sago was a collegiate athlete but played softball instead of basketball. Active referees are listed in bold. MLB umpires rake in an impressive $300,000 annually, and the referees in the NHL receives around $275,000 . 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. Your login session has expired. Holtkamp, Moyer-Gleich, and Sago were the only three female referees that were active in the NBA for the 2018 season. 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. By accessing any information beyond this page, you agree to abide by the Privacy Policy / Your California Privacy Rights and Terms of Use. In the beginning, back in 1997, there were two: Violet Palmer and Dee Kantner. WNBA 2020: Points of Education (Part 2) NBA adds 4 new full-time referees, including 2 female NBA referees . 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. Thirteen of the 31 referees in the WNBA are women. We all started somewhere. NEW YORK - NBA G League referees Cheryl Flores, Robert Hussey, Matt Kallio and Dannica Mosher have been promoted to full-time NBA staff officials for the 2022-23 season . That only works if there are sufficient aspirants to form a true competitive pool of candidates. Moyer-Gleich officiated three seasons in the NBA G League, including the 2018 playoffs. WNBA referees: Can we crunch some numbers? - Swish Appeal 2020. "They congratulated me for getting hired and being in the WNBA, I was like, that . How many female refs are there in the NBA? | Dependable Subscribe to get the Referee.com Review every week plus periodic free training and special offers on the sports you officiate. Thirteen of the 31 referees in the WNBA are women. Referee Assignments | NBA Official According to a warrant for Morrow's arrest, he's facing charges of assault by strangulation, second-degree kidnapping and communicating threats. 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. With more female referees officiating games, fans have begun to wonder if there's a pay gap between female referees and male referees. 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. The Associated Press released a study Friday regarding the NCAA referee pay gap. And that is where the NBA has been busy in recent years. "This isn't, 'Let's go out and do social work,'" Monty McCutchen, NBA's vice president of referee development and training, said. The ability to advance in this career is evident. NBA hires Danielle Scott, league's 6th female full-time ref If they are working full then they are paid $250,000 per season. When it comes to mentors within the officiating world, though, it all comes back to the paths forged before them. First, the sixth-seeded Chicago Sky hosts the seventh-seeded Dallas Wings at 8 p.m. Natalie Sago, 31, a 2018 addition to the league, had a birthright motivating her: Her father, Dr. Shelton Sago, was a 35-year high school official in Missouri, a local legend in both basketball and football. I wanted to do as many games as I could to prepare me to work in the NBA. Simone Jelks worked her first game in the NBA in 2019. Sun Belt apologizes to Troy for refs' late blunder, Irish move past Wolfpack as Miles still sidelined, Spirit make NWSL history by signing 15-year-old, Volynets stops Stearns to reach first WTA semi, Shiffrin 4th in super-G, still chasing 86th win, Sheldon gives Buckeyes lift vs. Michigan in return, White out as Pitt hoops coach after 42-99 mark, All in the family: how three generations of Jaquezes have ruled West Coast basketball. 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. Captaincy chaos and Waldrum ultimatums - Will Nigeria be ready for World Cup. It does take time to develop officials, McCutchen 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. San Diego State. The two even got to officiate two high school games together, a moment that seems like yesterday in her memory even as she's gone on to call contests in both the WNBA and NBA. Please logout and login again. Lauren Holtkamp-Sterling | Offical #7 | NBRA She dedicated herself completely to the game, but also to earning respect just like anyone else. In addition, referees are paid bonus money for working the playoffs and NBA Finals. Inspiration was even easier to come by for Jenna Schroeder, 35, another former collegiate athlete who, like Holtkamp-Sterling, transitioned to the officiating side following college. Women's Euros. ET. NBA adds 4 new full-time referees, including 2 more women None of it bothered me. Although there's no word on what their yearly raise looks like, after three to five years of working as an entry-level referee, officials are eligible to be promoted to the next level. I had absolutely no idea you could be a referee and make a living out of it. The entry-level referees are paid around $600 per match. Thats where she remembers watching Candace Parker with Tennessee, and Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird with UConn. The initiative is one that comes straight from the top of the NBA hierarchy. Skype chats gave way to lengthy group texts, including several that persist to this day. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Those inside the program aren't the only ones seeing this progress anymore, either. 2022-23 Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team - Wikipedia To its credit, the NBA hasn't been satisfied at simply hitting numerical targets for the sake of appearance -- although no one's saying it's been perfect, either. Boger, 67, joined the NFL in 2004 as a line judge. 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. NBA Referees Directory | Basketball-Reference.com All rights reserved. presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution "Lauren took about six of us under her wing a couple summers ago," Sago said. 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. Fast forward to 2022, Sago worked the Suns-Bucks game Sunday in Milwaukee, where Phoenix coach Monty Williams dismissed any notion that female refs might cause a games texture or tone to be different. 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 . According to Career Trend, WNBA referees earn a base salary of $180,000 per year. Her husband, Johnee Gleich, is currently an official in the NCAA. She competed in the Sweet 16 of the of the 2010 Division II NCAA Tournament. There was an error submitting your subscription. (Suggested reading: Floyd Mayweather interested in buying NBA team). But when she made the transition from basketball player to basketball referee, her perspective on those tough moments shifted dramatically. I think when I got hired, that had its own sort of significance and same for all the women after me. The current group of eight full-timers all did games, as did Clare Aubry, ShaRae Mitchell, Blanca Burns and Jenna Reneau. It's not a big deal anymore," she remembers thinking. 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. October 13, 2022 9:36 AM. 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. WNBA. This is the league's . 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. Women officials are often generalized as being too sensitive when they dont tolerate or permit certain forms of disrespect on the court. Senior-level referees are the best of the best.