A Referee With A Cause Veteran Official Says Women Blocked Out

A lot of things have changed since Paula Nunnally began refereeing girls basketball games 15 years ago.

Some haven’t.

While female athletes and coaches have successfully narrowed the gender gap, according to Nunnally, most local women officials have not been allowed to follow suit.

Nunnally should know. In a period during the past 30 years she has seen the game from all sides - player, coach, referee and fan.

Originally from Cusick, Nunnally took an immediate interest in the game when she began shooting at the hoop overhanging her family’s garage door when she was in the third grade.

“Basketball was something that came easy for me, and I liked all aspects of it,” Nunnally said. “I just have loved the game since I was young.”

In the ensuing years, Nunnally’s passion for it took her to successful playing careers at Cusick High School and Whitworth College, as well as Whitworth’s head coaching position from 1987-88.

It also led her to become a referee, and for the past 15 years Nunnally has worked as an official for the Spokane Women’s Basketball Board.

This year, the SWBB has included an unprecedented eight women among its 80 active members. Still, Nunnally has yet to move into the top tier of officials who are regularly assigned to referee area varsity and Greater Spokane League games.

Nunnally admits a number of factors may have contributed to her failure in advancing past her current second-tier rating, but she said being female definitely plays a major role.

“Looking at our association and the way the world looks at females, it’s hard to work your way up,” Nunnally said. “It’s a maledominated organization. The men ref the men, and the men ref the women.

“In our association, it’s very, very hard to peck your way up even if you’re a male. But for females, it’s even harder. I think we’ve lost several people over the years who could have been really good female officials who left because they weren’t moved up when they felt they were ready.”

SWBB president Nancy Gilbert said it takes years for officials to work their way to the top, male or female.

Gilbert added that women often assume greater roles in their family’s lives than men do, and as a result they often aren’t able to devote as much time to refereeing as is needed.

“Officiating is tough with a family,” Gilbert said. “The woman is the primary care-giver and priorities change. The time commitment that officiating requires is tremendous.”

There’s more to it than that, says Nunnally.

“I think I’d be where I am right now if I didn’t even care - just went out and called the game and was lacksadaisical,” Nunnally said. “I just don’t think that me trying to do the best every time I go out on the court, trying to improve … where’s it gotten me?”

Particularly galling for Nunnally is the fact she was recognized by Pacific-10 Conference officials at an International Basketball Officiating Camp in Pullman three years ago.

Nunnally was even invited to apply for a Pac-10 job, which she briefly considered before yielding to the demands of being a mother and wife.

“I got a lot of positive feedback that they wanted to use me, but my kids were younger and I didn’t know whether or not I wanted to do all that traveling,” Nunnally said. “So I didn’t even send in my resume, but I think they probably would have used me.”

In contention for a major collegiate job but unrecognized among her peers, Nunnally can only guess some SWBB members’ fears have held her back.

“There are some men, and there are some in the regular job sites, who believe women are inferior and treat you that way,” Nunnally said. “I would say a little more than half the men in our association look at you as an equal, but there’s enough that don’t that can hold you under. It only takes a few to make your life miserable and not move you up.”

Nunnally said being a woman should be an asset to refereeing girls basketball. Most women referees have played or coached basketball and as a result possess a better understanding of the women’s game.

“I know how girls think and the way they move, and I think playing has affected my ability to anticipate their play,” Nunnally said. “It sure makes it a lot easier if you’ve been there and know the feel of the game. They (men officials) let a lot of things go because they’re used to the boys having all kinds of contact and playing through it. This is different. Girls get bumped and it can throw them off enough that they can travel or miss a shot.”

Because of her situation, Nunnally said she has considered leaving the SWBB and this may be her last season.

Through all her heartaches, however, her love of the game remains.

“I think what I like about it is that I can still stay in the game,” Nunnally said. “I can still be associated with those girls who are moving in and trying to be good in basketball. I kind of have my hand in it.”

In order to improve womens’ status in the SWBB, Nunnally suggests actively recruiting former players and coaches.

“Train these women once they get out of basketball, if they love the game and played in college, to stick with it,” Nunnally said.