Two Black Women Become The First To Officiate An NBA Game Together

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Two Women Officiate NBA Game For The First Time

Two Black women made history this week when they became the first time two women to officiate an NBA game together.

According to a tweet from The Undefeated reporter Marc J. Spears, Danielle Scott and Angelica Suffren officiated an NBA Summer League game between the LA Lakers and the Miami Heat on Tuesday evening.

“First time I’ve ever seen two Black women referee an NBA game of any kind,” Spears wrote. “Violet Palmer would be proud Danielle Scott and Angelica Suffren reffing at the California Classic Summer League Lakers versus Heat.”

The NBA later confirmed to the Huffington Post that the women had indeed achieved this milestone.

Palmer was the first woman to officiate an NBA game in 1997 after her hire broke the gender barrier that same year. She retired in 2016.

According to NBC29, 2018 is the first year the NBA has also recruited women to officiate their training ground programs with the goal of grooming them for the top league.