Lauren Holtkamp-Sterling Becomes First Mother to Officiate in NBA

Lauren Holtkamp-Sterling became the first mother in history to officiate an NBA game on Friday night.

Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports

CHICAGO – Referee Lauren Holtkamp-Sterling made NBA history Friday night when she became the first mother to officiate a league game.

Holtkamp-Sterling worked the Bulls-Warriors game in Chicago.

The game was the first for Holtkamp-Sterling since she gave birth to daughter Stoan this year. She missed last season with a knee injury that required surgery and the start of her 2019-20 season was delayed by abdominal surgery.

Her husband, Jonathan Sterling, worked the Los Angeles Clippers-Bucks game in Milwaukee on Friday night. The couple met at a college basketball referees event before they became the first married couple to officiate in league history.

''That's amazing. They probably have a good nanny, I'm guessing. That cannot be easy raising a child with two NBA refs as parents. It's a pretty incredible story. I'm happy for Lauren that she's back on the court,'' Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.

In 2014, Holtkamp-Sterling became the third full-time female referee in league history.