Ashley Moyer-Gleich will become only the second woman to referee an NBA playoff game after being selected as one of 36 first-round officials, the league announced on Thursday.
It has been over a decade since a woman last officiated a playoff game. Violet Palmer became the first woman to be selected for a postseason assignment, featuring in nine games between 2006 and 2012.
Moyer-Gleich – a former Division II college basketball player at Millersville University in her native state of Pennsylvania – described her selection as “surreal.”
“I worked four games as an alternate last year, so obviously, my goal was I wanted to be an alternate again because that’s just sustaining the growth that I’ve had in my career,” she said, per 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.”
Per the National Basketball Referees Association, Moyer-Gleich joined the NBA’s full-time officiating staff in November 2018, having previously refereed in the NBA’s G-League as well as in the WNBA. She worked over 200 regular season games across six seasons before receiving the postseason nod this year.
The 36-year-old is one of three officials making their playoff debut, alongside Marat Kogut and J.T. Orr.
As the playoffs progress and the field of teams is trimmed down, so is the officiating crew. Only 12 referees are selected for the NBA Finals and receive a coveted white warmup jacket, something that Moyer-Gleich has made a long-term ambition.
“Obviously that’s an aspiration and that’s a goal way far down the road,” she said. “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 — the epitome of what we do.
“Whether I’m the first or not, I think just a female breaking through and getting that opportunity would be monumental.”