Natalie Sago (born May 24, 1989) is a

professional basketball In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larg ...

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA), wearing number 9. Sago is the fifth woman to become a full-time NBA referee. On November 15, 2018, the NBA announced that Sago was promoted to become a full-time member of the league's officiating staff; she previously officiated NBA games as a non-staff referee, as well as three full seasons in both the NBA Gatorade League and the WNBA. Sago played college softball for Jefferson College from 2007–2009 and

Drury University Drury University, formerly Drury College and originally Springfield College, is a private university in Springfield, Missouri. The university's mission statement describes itself as "church-related". It enrolls about 1,700 undergraduate and gra ...

for 2009–2011. Sago earned a bachelor's degree in K-12 Physical Education from the

University of Missouri–St. Louis The University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL) is a public research university in St. Louis, Missouri. Established in 1963, it is one of four universities in the University of Missouri System and its newest. Located on the former grounds of Bel ...

. Sago's father, Dr. Shelton Sago, officiated basketball for 35 years for the

Missouri State High School Activities Association The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) is the governing body for high school activities throughout the state of Missouri. Approximately 580 high schools are members of MSHSAA. The MSHSAA conducts championship-level activi ...

, retiring in 2019. He continues to officiate high school football.

References

External links

National Basketball Referees Association bio
1989 births Living people College women's basketball players in the United States National Basketball Association referees American women referees and umpires Women basketball referees NBA G League referees {{1980s-US-basketball-bio-stub