Hornets-Magic to be first NBA game with two-woman referee crew

Monday's game between the Charlotte Hornets and Orlando Magic will make history for reasons that have nothing to do with the men playing in the game. 

Per The Associated Press (h/t ESPN), Natalie Sago and Jenna Schroeder will make up two-thirds of the contest's referee crew. It will be the first time that two women officials worked an NBA regular-season matchup together. 

While Sean Wright will serve as the crew chief, Sago will be the referee and Schroeder will be the game's umpire. 

Sago and Schroeder previously worked together in the G League. 

"This is a big deal," Schroeder said. "It's like my feminist dreams come true, that like my personal values are colliding with my professional values and it's awesome."

Last week, the NFL announced that Sarah Thomas will be a down judge for Super Bowl LV between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 7. Thomas will be the first woman to ever work on a Super Bowl officiating crew. 

Sago added: "It's amazing. I'm just proud to be part of an organization that promotes people to do the job based on our abilities, not on our gender, race, ethnicity, those types of things."