Ashley Moyer-Gleich checked her emails just before heading to the airport Saturday for a trip to what she thought would be her last game of the season.
That’s when the news came: she still has games to play.
Moyer-Gleich will soon become the second woman in NBA history to officiate a playoff game. She was one of 36 referees announced by the league Thursday as selections for the first round of the playoffs that begin this weekend.
“It’s surreal,” Moyer-Gleich said. “It really is.”
She joins Violet Palmer as the only woman selected by the NBA for playoff duty. Palmer played in nine playoff games between 2006 and 2012.
Moyer-Gleich, a former Division II player at Millersville University in her native Pennsylvania, was promoted to full-time NBA official in November 2018. She played in more than 200 regular season games in in his six seasons and is one of three first-time playoff selections by the league this year – Marat Kogut and JT Orr are the others.
“I worked four games as a substitute last year, so obviously my goal was to want to be a substitute again because that just supports the growth I’ve had in my career,” Moyer-Gleich said . “And then seeing my name on the list of working officials…I mean, my mom was with me, she came with me to my last two games for a little trip, and to open this email and having him with me and sharing this news was truly incredible.”
The full list of first-round referees chosen by the NBA: Ray Acosta, Brent Barnaky, Curtis Blair, Tony Brothers, Nick Buchert, James Capers, Sean Corbin, Kevin Cutler, Marc Davis, JB DeRosa, Mitchell Ervin, Tyler Ford, Brian Forte, Scott Foster, Pat Fraher, Jacyn Goble, John Goble, David Guthrie, Bill Kennedy, Courtney Kirkland, Karl Lane, Mark Lindsay, Ed Malloy, Gediminas Petraitis, Kevin Scott, Aaron Smith, Ben Taylor, Dedric Taylor, Josh Tiven, Justin Van Duyne, James Williams, Sean Wright, Zach Zarba, Kogut, Orr and Moyer-Gleich.
“Congratulations to these 36 officials on the prestigious and well-deserved honor of being selected to officiate in the NBA Playoffs,” said NBA President of League Operations Byron Spruell. “We appreciate the professionalism, dedication and teamwork our officiating staff demonstrates daily throughout the season.”
The league narrows down the roster of officials for each round, usually culminating with a 12-person roster for the NBA Finals. These referees receive white warm-up jackets for finals games, a tradition the league has done for years.
Moyer-Gleich isn’t there yet, but she’s getting close.
“Just like the playoffs are coveted, the white jacket is even more coveted,” she said. “Obviously it’s an aspiration and it’s a long-term goal. And hopefully I can continue on the same trajectory, continue to increase my responsibilities on the field, maybe move from referee to chief d team at one point and then hopefully get in the final – the epitome of what we do. And whether I’m first or not, I think just having a woman make it and get that. opportunity would be monumental.
Ashley Moyer-Gleich checked her emails just before heading to the airport Saturday for a trip to what she thought would be her last game of the season.
That’s when the news came: she still has games to play.
Moyer-Gleich will soon become the second woman in NBA history to officiate a playoff game. She was one of 36 referees announced by the league Thursday as selections for the first round of the playoffs that begin this weekend.
“It’s surreal,” Moyer-Gleich said. “It really is.”
She joins Violet Palmer as the only woman selected by the NBA for playoff duty. Palmer played in nine playoff games between 2006 and 2012.
Moyer-Gleich, a former Division II player at Millersville University in her native Pennsylvania, was promoted to full-time NBA official in November 2018. She played in more than 200 regular season games in in his six seasons and is one of three first-time playoff selections by the league this year – Marat Kogut and JT Orr are the others.
“I worked four games as a substitute last year, so obviously my goal was to want to be a substitute again because that just supports the growth I’ve had in my career,” Moyer-Gleich said . “And then seeing my name on the list of working officials…I mean, my mom was with me, she came with me to my last two games for a little trip, and to open this email and having him with me and sharing this news was truly incredible.”
The full list of first-round referees chosen by the NBA: Ray Acosta, Brent Barnaky, Curtis Blair, Tony Brothers, Nick Buchert, James Capers, Sean Corbin, Kevin Cutler, Marc Davis, JB DeRosa, Mitchell Ervin, Tyler Ford, Brian Forte, Scott Foster, Pat Fraher, Jacyn Goble, John Goble, David Guthrie, Bill Kennedy, Courtney Kirkland, Karl Lane, Mark Lindsay, Ed Malloy, Gediminas Petraitis, Kevin Scott, Aaron Smith, Ben Taylor, Dedric Taylor, Josh Tiven, Justin Van Duyne, James Williams, Sean Wright, Zach Zarba, Kogut, Orr and Moyer-Gleich.
“Congratulations to these 36 officials on the prestigious and well-deserved honor of being selected to officiate in the NBA Playoffs,” said NBA President of League Operations Byron Spruell. “We appreciate the professionalism, dedication and teamwork our officiating staff demonstrates daily throughout the season.”
The league narrows down the roster of officials for each round, usually culminating with a 12-person roster for the NBA Finals. These referees receive white warm-up jackets for finals games, a tradition the league has done for years.
Moyer-Gleich isn’t there yet, but she’s getting close.
“Just like the playoffs are coveted, the white jacket is even more coveted,” she said. “Obviously it’s an aspiration and it’s a long-term goal. And hopefully I can continue on the same trajectory, continue to increase my responsibilities on the field, maybe move from referee to chief d team at one point and then hopefully get in the final – the epitome of what we do. And whether I’m first or not, I think just having a woman make it and get that. opportunity would be monumental.