It’s hard to think, mainly in the world of sports, an institution that has done more to bring political equality and now female empowerment to the table than the NBA. We have witnessed the major role the league played during the presidential elections, and then came the COVID-19, which not only the league provided their arenas for mass vaccination, but there has been countless campaigns and support in nearly all aspects of it.
But it seems that all those good deeds weren’t enough for the league, and they have broken yet another record. Female referees officiating NBA games.
This season alone, there has been a record of seven female NBA referees who officiated at least one game. which is the most in any season in the league’s history. What is even more amazing is the fact that STREETOPIA was able to confirm that the league executives have set a goal to quadruple this number by the end of 2021 and next season, leading the league to a near future in which 50% of all referees will be female.
In January, the NBA saw its first two-woman referee crew with Natalie Sago and Jenna Schroeder officiating a game, Natalie thought it was just incredible, as she puts it in her own words: “It was very meaningful [to work that game with Jenna Schroeder], not only we broke that record but it was an all- female crew officiating an NBA game. It’s a big deal. We always say, hopefully, one day we’ll get to the point where it’s not as big of a deal. All of the congratulatory text messages and social media posts that we got from, not only our family and friends, but our colleagues and other stars out there in the world. I mean, Billie Jean King tweeted about us. Megan Rapinoe wrote on her Instagram about us. Other powerful women took notice, and it was something that was blown up on the social media platforms. It was just a really special day and evening with Jenna”
STREETOPIA wanted to give a shout-out to all female referees (Ashley Moyer Gleich, Danica Mosher, Jenna Schroeder, Natalie Sago, Simone Jelks, Danielle Scott, Lauren Holtkamp and so many others) and praise them for their outstanding performances so far. Way to go!
It’s so nice to see the NBA, as an institution, fighting so much for equality and a brighter future, that certainly makes us proud way beyond basketball.
