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NBA official Sha’Rae Mitchell went down hard during Thursday night’s game between the Atlanta Hawks and the Brooklyn Nets after she ran into a camera operator and appeared to injure her head on the collision.
Mitchell, who is in her first season as an NBA employee, was jogging down the court at full speed with just over eight minutes left in the game when she fell hard to the ground after running into a camera operator who appeared to be filming the courtside crowd during the game.
Referee Sha’Rae Mitchell (98) signals during the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game between the Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on March 12, 2026. (Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
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Play was stopped as Mitchell appeared to grab the back of her head, bent forward in obvious pain.
She walked off the court and sat down, continuing to grab her head.
Referee Sha’Rae Mitchell holds his head after a collision during the fourth quarter of the Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks game at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on March 12, 2026. (Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
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Mitchell reportedly returned to action as Jalen Johnson recorded 21 points, nine rebounds and nine assists to help the Hawks extend the NBA’s longest current winning streak to eight games with a 108-97 win over the Nets.
The 40-year-old referee officially joined the league this season after previously officiating 11 regular-season games as a non-staff member in the 2022-23 NBA season and four games in the 2021-22 season.
Rapper and entertainer Boosie Badazz reacts after watching referee Sha’Rae Mitchell (98) fall to the floor following a collision during the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on March 12, 2026. (Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
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Mitchell was a standout women’s college basketball player at UC Santa Barbara before serving on the coaching staffs at Stanford University, UCLA and Coastal Carolina University. She then moved on to college basketball for several years before making her debut at the professional level.
