Che Flores becomes NBA's first openly nonbinary, trans referee

Che Flores becomes NBA’s first openly nonbinary, trans referee

Che Flores came out with their story in a GQ article published Monday
Some NBA executives have known for several months
Flores: 'I can go through the world and even my job a lot more comfortably'

Updated: Oct 24, 2023 / 06:31 PM EDT

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(NewsNation) — Che Flores is now the NBA’s first openly nonbinary and transgender referee, making the revelation in a GQ story Monday.

“One piece I was missing for myself was that no one knew how I identified,” Flores told GQ. “Being misgendered as she/her always just felt like a little jab in the gut.”

Flores is entering their second season as an NBA staff referee. They worked 35 games last season and 12 games as a non-staff official in the 2021-2022 season.

“I can go through the world and even my job a lot more comfortably,” Flores said.

Some NBA executives have known how Flores identifies for several months, but many of their colleagues learned when they revealed it during pre-season meetings last month.

“I just think of having younger queer kids look at somebody who’s on a high-profile stage and not using it,” Flores told GQ. “And I’m not using the league to an advantage in any way. This is just to let young kids know that we can exist, we can be successful in all different ways.”