Ashley Moyer-Gleich checked her email Saturday just before heading to the airport for a trip to what she thought would be her final game of the season.
That’s when the news came in: She has more games to do.
Ms. Moyer-Gleich will soon become only the second woman in NBA history to referee a playoff game. She was one of 36 referees announced by the league Thursday as its referee selections for Round 1 of the playoffs starting this weekend.
“It’s surreal,” Ms. Moyer-Gleich said. “It really is.”
She joins Violet Palmer as the only women picked by the NBA for playoff assignments. Palmer worked nine playoff games between 2006 and 2012.
Ms. Moyer-Gleich, a former Division II player at Millersville University in her native Pennsylvania, was promoted to the full-time NBA officiating ranks in November 2018. She’s worked more than 200 regular-season games in her six seasons, and is one of three first-time playoff selections by the league this year—Marat Kogut and J.T. Orr are the others.
“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,“ Ms. Moyer-Gleich said. ”And then to see my name on the 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.”
“Congratulations to these 36 officials on the well-earned and prestigious honor of being selected to officiate in the NBA playoffs,” said Byron Spruell, the NBA’s president of league operations. “We appreciate the professionalism, dedication, and teamwork that our officiating staff displays on a daily basis throughout the season.”
The league trims the officiating roster down for each round, typically culminating with a 12-person list for the NBA Finals. Those referees receive white warm-up jackets for Finals games, something the league has made a tradition for years.
Ms. Moyer-Gleich isn’t there yet—but she’s one step closer.
“Just like playoffs are coveted, the white jacket is even more super-coveted,” she said. “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—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.”
