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NBA official Sha’Rae Mitchell took a bad fall during Thursday night’s game between the Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets after she collided with a camera operator and appeared to injure her head in the collision.
Mitchell, who is in his first season as an NBA personnel official, was jogging at full speed along the court with just over eight minutes left in the game when he took a hard fall to the ground after running into a camera operator, who appeared to be filming the crowd on the court during the game.
Referee Sha’Rae Mitchell (98) signals 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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Play was stopped when Mitchell appeared to grab the back of his head, bent over in obvious pain.
He walked off the court and sat down, still clutching his head.
Referee Sha’Rae Mitchell holds her 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 the game 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 victory 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 referee during the 2022-23 NBA season and four games during the 2021-22 season.
Rapper and entertainer Boosie Badazz reacts after seeing referee Sha’Rae Mitchell (98) fall to the ground 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 college basketball player at UC Santa Barbara before serving on the coaching staffs at Stanford University, UCLA and Coastal Carolina University. He then went on to officiate college basketball for several years before debuting at the professional level.
