NBA announced its 1st nonbinary and trans referee on Monday, Oct. 23. Che Flores, who uses the pronoun they, is entering their second NBA season as a staff referee.
For the past few months, some NBA officials said that they already knew about Flores' gender identity.
Meanwhile, some of Che's colleagues said that they learned about how they identify after the referee revealed it during the recent pre-season meetings in September.
NBA Announces Its 1st Openly Nonbinary, Trans Referee
According to NBC News' latest report, Che Flores decided to reveal their gender identity during an interview with GQ.
"One piece I was missing for myself was that no one knew how I identified. Being misgendered as she/her always just felt like a little jab in the gut," said Flores via GQ.
"I can go through the world and even my job a lot more comfortably," they added.
Che Flores clarified that they are not taking advantage of the NBA league in any way. The sports official said that they just want to inspire young queer kids so that they know they can exist.
Flores explained that they are hoping that their revelation will encourage other nonbinary and transgenders that they can also be successful in many ways than they can think of.
Who is Che Flores?
Che Flores is a second-year NBA referee who already officiated around 1,000 games. This is an impressive feat for the nonbinary and trans referee in their 14 years of career.
In their NBA referee journey, Flores already went to three countries, as well as attended three professional leagues, every level of intercollegiate athletics, and 10 championship NBA games.
Aside from this, another achievement of Flores is that they are considered to be the first person to work championship games for the G League, the WNBA, and the NCAA between July 2020 and March 2021.
The decision of Che Flores to openly share their gender identity is a big deal for the LGBTQ+ community members who are struggling in the sports industry.
This is because their capabilities are being criticized and questioned by so many people. Now, Che Flores needs to go on another NBA journey as the NBA season is scheduled to start on Tuesday, Oct. 24, with the Denver Nuggets as the reigning champion.
If you want to learn more about the story of the NBA's first openly nonbinary and trans referee, you can click this link.
