History of Deaf Basketball Officials

For about thirty (+30) years, a small group of deaf and hard of hearing basketball referees have provided their basketball officiating service at the former American Athletic Association of the Deaf (AAAD) which is now called United States Basketball Association (USADB)'s National, Regional and Invitational Tournaments and scholastic/collegiate competitions as individuals. It took a few years for deaf and hard of hearing referees as a group to establish a formal organization called Deaf Basketball Officials, Inc. (DBO), which provides professional growth, support and social opportunities among peers.

The Deaf Basketball Officials, Inc. (DBO) was officially founded in Orlando, Florida on April 11 or 18, 2007. The first DBO Executive Board was elected with formally-developed By-Laws.

The purpose of DBO is to provide the Deaf Community and Basketball Community at the recreational, scholastic, collegiate and international levels more awareness about our basketball officiating services, skills and knowledge. There are about twenty (+20) current certified deaf and hard of hearing basketball referees with various levels of officiating experience in the United States. The levels of basketball experiences range from Youth, Catholic Youth Organizations (CYO), Middle Schools, High Schools (Junior Varsity and Varsity), Junior Colleges, National Collegiate Athletic Association Divisions (NCAA) I, II & III, United States of America Deaf Basketball (USADB) Tournaments, Clerc Classic Tournaments, International Basketball Tournaments and Deaflympic Games.

The mission of DBO is to promote the opportunity for deaf and hard of hearing officials to maintain the skills of floor mechanics, knowledge of basketball rules/signals and professional growth in basketball officiating. Deaf and hard of hearing referees also benefit from the support, social and professional opportunities having full communication access in American Sign Language at deaf basketball events. It also provides positive exposure of deaf and hard of hearing basketball referees as role models for deaf and hearing youth, players, coaches, referees and fans.

The goals of DBO are to maintain healthy relationships with the community through basketball organizations and networks and actively participate in the basketball tournaments hosted by the Deaf Schools such as Clerc Classic, Western States Schools for the Deaf Basketball Classic (WSBC), Mason Dixon, USADB and International basketball events.

The future vision of DBO is to recruit, train and expand a pool of the potential deaf and hard of hearing youth and adults, as well as to develop their interest and skills in this challenging and professional career of basketball officiating.