The award-winning “Listen In With KNN” is back with a brand new audio episode as host and executive producer Kelsey Nicole Nelson sits down with special guest, Natasha Camy, a veteran NCAA Women’s Division 1 basketball official.
For the next 54 minutes, the two put their stripes on and discuss Camy’s upbringing in Philadelphia, the life of an official, Referee Ready Academy and her latest investments in the growth of African basketball. The interview begins with Nelson and Camy talking about how they set this collaboration up through meeting each other at a recent women’s college basketball game between the University of Maryland – College Park and University of Southern California, a game where Camy was officiating.
Natasha Camy, a native of West Philadelphia who played basketball growing up, originally had aspirations of working in the booth as a broadcaster instead of on the court. As Camy recollects, she talks about her dream of working at a nearby television station that she would walk past every day.
“I would walk past the TV station every day and tell myself, ‘I’m gonna work in there.’ That was my goal,” Camy said.
The trajectory of her career would flip one weekend as her late grandmother would implore her to try officiating basketball games so Camy could make some money on the side during her time in college. Camy’s grandmother, Antionette, would recommend this as she herself was a referee, using the occupation as a great way to stay physically active.
Camy would begin her officiating journey by working youth league basketball games, moving up to women’s and men’s basketball leagues all around the Philadelphia area. The role of being a referee gave a young Camy a newfound perspective on the game of basketball as she was able to be involved in the process of a game without playing.
The motivation would increase for Camy when she was paired up with a college basketball official at a women’s league game, who informed her that she could make good money out of a career as an official. This astonished Camy, who worked games for little to no payment at this time and had to work a job on the side as a business banker for Wells Fargo. Her love for the role convinced Camy to commit full time to being an official, giving up her side job in the process.
Camy and her mother had a long conversation about the decision while her grandmother gave some advice as well. Camy was able to receive major support from her grandmother, as the two made a deal where she would sponsor her, covering the cost of camp fees, uniforms and contributing some money for hotels. This deal would be one of the primary influences on not only Camy’s officiating career but a foundational piece behind creating her “Referee Ready Academy,” a program that provides learning tools and a pathway to get through the early financial hurdles of becoming a referee, thus closing the gap between what’s informed in the officials manual and what’s taught through real-life scenarios.
Host Nelson and Natasha Camy would connect on a deeper level as Nelson shared some of her trials and tribulations of becoming a journalist. The discussion segued to Nelson asking Camy on the process of getting to call big games in which Camy brings up how officials go through a tryout to be selected to work in different collegiate conferences at AAU tournaments. These tournaments are vital as coordinators can get a second look at potential officials. Camy had to learn the basketball rulebook, the mechanics of officiating and the amount of games it would take for her to assimilate to these new skills.
“There’s so many things I had to figure out just that are nuanced in order to when I show up to this camp, ‘How do I look? How do I run? Do I understand the game from an officiating standpoint,” Camy said.
Nelson and Camy also broke down0l8jk8 certain generalizations about officiating, such as officials are overworked and give certain players different benefits in game.
Camy debunked these notions by saying, “If I’m not treating athlete No. 88 the same iIm treating athlete No. 1, I’m already doing the game a disservice. The difference between No. 88 and No. 1 is that the impact is more.”
She further detailed the preparation that goes into these matchups, which is why she enjoys the heavy workload.
“Sometimes people get upset about how often officials work but it’s like we actually get better with the more time we get to judge plays and review plays,” said Camy.
Looking at the future of officiating, Nelson and Camy praise the rise of diversity in officiating as statistics show that currently 16.7% of officials are women and only 8% are African American but the two have hopes of a future where it’s a 50/50 split as well as the birth of new leagues like the 3v3 women’s basketball league, Unrivaled, giving officials another opportunity to get their foot in the door.
The interview finished on a business note as host Nelson inquired about Camy’s recent accomplishments of becoming an investor of the South African basketball club, Cape Town Tigers. Camy discussed what it means to be an African American Women investor in the sports sphere at a time where we don’t see large numbers of Black women as investors in sports franchises. Camy shared how this new venture came to be as she got in contact with the Tigers through one of her official mentees,who was officiating in the BAL and encouraged Camy to go out there. Camy invested in the Cape Town Tigers because she recognized the growth of international players coming into the NBA and the talent of basketball on the African continent.
“These players have an opportunity to be in a league that looks like them and resonates with them and to know that the people at the helm of it are so passionate about creating the right storylines and creating a pathway for their brothering– it was a no-brainer for me,” Camy said.
The interview ended with Camy talking about her aspirations for life after she’s done with officiating, which involves growing the game of basketball in every facet.
To listen to the full show check it out below.
