Danielle Scott becomes 6th woman to referee full-time in the NBA

The NBA has made yet another stride in promoting diversity across the league as yet another woman becomes a referee for the league

The 6th woman on the NBA court

Danielle Scott made history as she became only the 6th woman to be promoted to the full-time NBA staff referee roster. Scott who followed in the steps of her parents, both of whom were college basketball officials has clearly decided to continue the family business only at a much higher level. Scott joins Lauren Holtkamp-Sterling, Ashley Moyer-Gleich, Simone Jelks, Natalie Sago and Jenna Schroeder who are already refereeing in the NBA.

"I think that they've accepted us at this point," Scott said. "So, I think if we're not there, we're very, very close to being there."

How did Danielle Scott get here?

After spending four seasons officiating in the G League prior to promotion, Scott was announced alongside two other full-time hires on Monday, John Conley and Brandon Schwab. Both men are moving up from the G League as well. Each one of the three handled betweeen 20 and 26 games as non-staff referees last season including some WNBA games as well.

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Questioned about the appointment of Scott, NBA's senior vice president Monty McCutchen said, "It's continuing our thought of 'What do good officials look like?" Incidentally McCutchen is also head of referee development and training, meaning an ideal person to have a clear view. "They look like anyone you see on the street. They look like men, they look like women, they look like people from different cultures. There's both diversity and inclusion in our hires."

Scott understands the impact she can have

Scott, an African American is more than aware of the effect she can have on current racial structures in society. Recently while refereeing G league game in California, she was approached by a man and his daughters. The man then proceeded to ask her to take a photo with his three daughters. The girls - all of whom were black - were thrilled that she agreed.

"Representation matters," Scott said. "I took the picture with them and they just were asking me all these questions, so it was really rewarding. Sometimes with the job, the stress, the day-to-day, you don't realize the impact that you have. And just that moment, it was really awesome for me and it made me realize, 'Wow, people are looking at me.'"