Che Flores is the first non-binary trans referee in the NBA, as told in an article published Monday by GQ.

Flores, who uses the pronoun they, is entering his second season as an NBA referee, after refereeing 35 games last season. He also refereed 12 games as an unofficial official in the 2021-22 season.

“One piece that I missed was that no one knew how I identified myself.”, Flores told GQ. “Being misdefined* as ‘she/he’ has always felt like a little punch in the stomach. I can face the world and even my job in a much more comfortable way.”, he added.

Some NBA executives have known the way Che Flores identifies himself for several months. Many of Flores’ colleagues learned about it when they revealed it during preseason meetings last month.

Flores has worked for about a decade in both the G League and the WNBA. They also chose him* to referee some of basketball’s biggest events: the G League finals, the WNBA finals, and the NCAA women’s national championship game.

“I’m not using the championship to take advantage of it in any way. I just want to let the kids know that we can exist, that we can be successful in any way.”

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