Britni La Cretaz

Twenty-one years ago， the NBA broke the gender barrier when it hired Violet Palmer and Dee Kantner， becoming the first major U.S. professional mens league to hire women as fulltime officials. But what was once seen as a sign of progress has not ushered in the cultural shift many expected. Today the NBA can count just one woman among its officiating ranks， and she is the only one to be hired full-time since the league hired the first two.

21年前，聘用了維奥雷特·帕尔默和迪·肯特纳的NBA打破了性别障碍，成为北美第一个聘用女性担任全职裁判的主流体育联盟。可这一具有先驱意义的事件并没有如众人所愿地带来文化上的改变。如今，NBA的众多裁判中只有一名女性，她也是联盟自首次聘用两名女性裁判之后聘用的唯一女性。

In fairness， the NBA isnt the only league with a paucity of female referees. "Theres not a history of females officiating on the mens side； that has to be built，" said Barry Mano， founder and president of the National Association of Sports Officials （NASO） and founder of Referee magazine. Major League Baseball has never had a female umpire； nor has the National Hockey League； the National Football League hired its first female referee in 2015. By these metrics， it would seem the NBA is ahead of the game. But it hasnt stayed in front， and its not clear when it will regain the momentum.

公平地说，NBA并不是唯一女性裁判稀缺的联赛。“不存在女性吹罚男子比赛的历史，这是需要构建的文化。”体育裁判国家协会（NASO）的创始人兼总裁，《裁判》杂志创始人巴里·马诺表示。MLB从未有过女性裁判，NHL也没有，NFL直到2015年才第一次聘用女裁判。按照这些标准，NBA无疑处于领先地位。但NBA并没有保持领先地位，我们也不知道他们何时才会重启势头。

Officiating is a dying industry， no matter the sport. Officials cite poor treatment from athletes and fans and low pay as two of the main reasons for exiting the job， according to Mano. NASOs 2017 National Officiating Survey of 17，487 referees at all levels around the country found that， in 1970， the average age when officials entered the field was 19 or 20. Today， its 42.

不论哪项运动，裁判都是一个走向死亡的职业。按照马诺的说法，运动员和球迷的恶劣态度以及低收入，是人们放弃裁判这份工作的主要原因。2017年NASO对全美17487名来自各个等级的裁判进行的全国裁判调查显示，1970年成为裁判的平均年龄为19到20岁。如今，这个数字是42岁。

"Younger people arent coming into this. Theyre making a different choice，" Mano said."So that stark reality forces us to deal with recruiting people and retaining them once theyre here." That recruitment includes more actively seeking out "underrepresented groups"（including women） to enter the field， something approximately 64 percent of officials who responded to the NASO survey felt should be happening.

“年轻人不愿意要这份工作，他们做出了不一样的选择。”马诺说，“严峻的现实迫使我们招募并留住裁判。”招募工作包括更积极地寻找“代表不足的群体（包括女性）”，NASO调查接近64%的受访者认为应当如此。

Violet Palmer had worked in womens NCAA Division I college ball for about eight years when she received a phone call from the NBA to invite her to its training program. "I joined the program and did very well，" Palmer said during a phone interview. "I learned that all you have to do is be in the top of your class of the training program and if theres a position open in the league， you will get your opportunity. Lo and behold， in 1997 I received my phone call and got my opportunity to referee in the league.”

维奥雷特·帕尔默在NCAA女子一级联盟做了大约八年裁判，才接到NBA邀请她参加培训项目的电话。“我参加了项目，表现得很好。”帕尔默在电话采访时表示，“我了解到，只要培训时保持顶尖成绩，只要联盟有空缺，那就是几乎你就能留下。……