NBA Playoffs Have Female Ref for the Second Time in History
Female basketball stars such as Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese have brought a lot of attention to the game this year. Now, the NBA is putting a female ref on the big stage, as the NBA playoffs will have a woman in charge for the second time in the association’s history.
Meet Ashley Moyer-Gleich, a Female Ref for the NBA
Late last week, the NBA announced that Ashley Moyer-Gleich was selected as one of 36 first-round officials in the NBA playoffs. It’s only the second time in the league’s lengthy history that a female ref has been chosen to referee an NBA playoff game. The last woman to do so was Violet Palmer, who was the first woman to be picked for a postseason assignment. She served as a referee in nine NBA games between 2006 and 2012.
Moyer-Gleich was once a player herself. She is a former Division II college basketball player at Millersville University in Pennsylvania. She grew up in the Keystone State. “I worked four games as an alternate last year, so obviously, my goal was I wanted to be an alternate again because thatâs just sustaining the growth that I’ve had in my career,” she said regarding the opportunity, via the NBA.com. “And then to see my name on list of working floor officials… I mean, my mom was with me, she came with me on my last two games for a little trip, and to open that email and have her there with me and share that news, it was really quite amazing.” She added that being female ref in the playoffs is “surreal. It really is.”
Moyer-Gleich has the resume to be more than qualified for this task, too. According to the NBA, she was promoted to the “full-time NBA officiating ranks” in November of 2018. She’s worked six seasons in her position and worked more than 200 regular-season games. “Just like playoffs are coveted, the white jacket is even more super-coveted,” she said regarding being a female ref. “Obviously that’s an aspiration and that’s a goal way far down the road. And hopefully I can continue on the same trajectory, continue to increase my responsibility on the floor, maybe going from the referee to a crew chief at some point and then hopefully getting to the finals â the epitome of what we do. And whether I’m the first or not, I think just a female breaking through and getting that opportunity would be monumental.”