NBA hires sixth female full-time referee

The NBA has hired Danielle Scott to become the league’s sixth female full-time referee. 

The league announced on Monday that Scott, John Conley and Brandon Schwab had been promoted to full-time referees for the upcoming season.

The trio worked between 20 and 26 games as nonstaff referees last season, according to the league’s statement. 

Join us in welcoming John Conley, Brandon Schwab and Danielle Scott as they make their full-time NBA Official debut this season! We’d also like to congratulate all of the officials returning for the 2021-22 NBA season. #NBRA #NBA75 pic.twitter.com/dixfA0vRmX

— NBA Referees (@OfficialNBARefs) October 18, 2021

Scott, who also worked as an official for WNBA games this year, is joining Lauren Holtkamp-Sterling, Ashley Moyer-Gleich, Simone Jelks, Natalie Sago and Jenna Schroeder on the full-time NBA staff referee roster.

Scott, who is the daughter of basketball officials, told The Associated Press she understands the impact she has as a Black woman and referee, sharing a story of young fans admiring her during a G League game. 

“Representation matters,” Scott told the AP. “I 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.’”

Monty McCutchen, the NBA’s senior vice president and head of referee development and training, applauded the promotion of the three officials. 

“It’s continuing our thought of ‘What do good officials look like?’” McCutchen said in a statement. “They 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.”

Scott added that she hopes the notion of female officials in the league will not be unusual to fans, the AP noted. 

“I think that they’ve accepted us at this point,” Scott said. “So, I think if we’re not there, we’re very, very close to being there.”

The NBA’s 75th season is set to begin on Tuesday.