Natalie Sago and Jenna Schroeder became the first two women to referee the same NBA game Monday night.
According to The Associated Press, Sago was referee, Schroeder was umpire and Sean Wright was crew chief in the Orlando Magicās 117-108 home win over the Charlotte Hornets. It was the first two-woman referee crew in NBA history.
āThis is a big deal,ā Schroeder, who worked G League games with Sago in the past, said in the lead-up to the game. āItās like my feminist dreams come true, that like my personal value are colliding with my professional values and itās awesome.ā
āItās amazing,ā Sago said. āIām just proud to be part of an organization that promotes people to do the job based on our abilities, not on our gender, race, ethnicity, those types of things.ā
The AP reported that there are seven women ā Sago, Schroeder, Lauren Holtkamp-Sterling, Ashley Moyer-Gleich, Simone Jelks, Danielle Scott and Dannica Mosher ā among the 76 officials that have refed NBA games during the 2020-21 season, which started Dec. 22.
āAll of us, weāre so happy and excited to work together,ā Sago said. āWe have a good group of females, weāre all close, we have great relationships and we share these moments.ā
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