NBA hires Danielle Scott, league's 6th female full-time ref

Posted October 18, 2021 7:00 am

By TIM REYNOLDS

Danielle Scott decided to join the family business. She's taken it to a new level.

Scott, the daughter of college basketball officials, was promoted Monday to the full-time NBA staff referee roster. She becomes the sixth woman on the current staff, joining Lauren Holtkamp-Sterling, Ashley Moyer-Gleich, Simone Jelks, Natalie Sago and Jenna Schroeder.

That's the most the NBA has ever had on staff at one time, and Scott said she hopes the notion of female referees in the league no longer seems unusual.

'œI think that they've accepted us at this point,'ť Scott said. 'œSo, I think if we're not there, we're very, very close to being there.'ť

Scott spent four seasons working in the G League before her promotion; the two other full-time hires announced Monday, John Conley and Brandon Schwab, also are moving up from the G League. They all worked between 20 and 26 games as non-staff referees last season.

Conley was in the G League for seven seasons, Schwab for five and, like Scott, they also worked WNBA games this season.

'œIt's continuing our thought of '~What do good officials look like?''ť said Monty McCutchen, the NBA's senior vice president and head of referee development and training. 'œThey look like anyone you see on the street. They look like men, they look like women, they look like people from different cultures. There's both diversity and inclusion in our hires.'ť

And Scott, who is Black, has already seen the impact she can have.

She was working a G League game in California when a man approached her at halftime and asked her to take a postgame photo with his three daughters. The young Black girls were overjoyed when she obliged.

'œRepresentation matters,'ť Scott said. 'œI took the picture with them and they just were asking me all these questions, so it was really rewarding. Sometimes with the job, the stress, the day to day, you don't realize the impact that you have. And just that moment, it was really awesome for me and it made me realize, '~Wow, people are looking at me.''ť

___

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

FILE - Referee Danielle Scott runs the court during the second half of an NBA basketball game between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Sacramento Kings in Los Angeles, in this Sunday, Feb. 7, 2021, file photo. The NBA announced the hiring of three referees Monday, Oct. 18, 2021, including Danielle Scott, who becomes the sixth woman on the full-time staff.(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File) The Associated Press

Article Comments

Article Categories
Basketball Content Providers NBA Pro Sports Sports Sports Leagues Sports Types

Article Comments

Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.