6/19/2024 by Shelley Russi
“An official's experience provides the opportunity to affirm or develop a value system that is not only foundational to officiating fairly, it also allows Referees the opportunity to mindfully practice fairness, consistency and embody equality - both on and beyond the hardwood.”–MW/SR
In basketball, as in life, the terms equality, equity and fairness are often used interchangeably. In the very first Embodying Equality through Officiating discussion (October 2020), we presented definitions of these terms in context, along with defining embodiment and basketball. Our intention for hosting these discussions was to create an open dialogue where a diverse group of Referees collectively discuss a referee’s role in creating fairness on the court, hold space for the expression of on/off-court life experiences, how each impacts crew effectiveness and extend the invitation to all referees to be a force for change by positively impacting equity off the court.
Here are the terms, defined in context for our intended discussions:
10/24/2023 by Shelley Russi
Knowing Breast Cancer exists is NOT enough! #DailyStrong
We are grateful to so many who HELPED us RAISE $10,000 in honor of the #REF-4-STEPH Campaign!!
We launched our 2nd Annual #REF-4-STEPH Campaign on October 23rd and we are thrilled to have MET our $10,000 goal to raise awareness AND funds to split equally among both of non-profits who supported Stephanie Daily throughout her journey: Young Survival Coalition (YSC HQ in New York) & Living Beyond Breast Cancer (LBBC HQ in PA).
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12/23/2020 by Shelley Russi
I have known Shelley Russi since I was in elementary school when I babysat her daughters at times when she was refereeing. During that time, I got to know Shelley well and ever since, I have admired her ability to bring out the best in others. In early 2020, I graduated from Washington State University with my master’s degree in Sport Management and found myself living at my parents’ house in Northern California; trying to figure out what to do next. While I was always involved in sport (swimming, water polo or rowing crew) I was constantly focused on performing at an elite level. Growing up in Alameda, California, I was blessed with many opportunities to play different sports; whatever was being played, I was playing it. For 15+ years I was on elite club swim teams and eventually walked-on at a Division 1 institution as a dual sport athlete. However, this led me to only view sport from one side – the athlete.
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