Sha’Rae Mitchell had a very unfortunate moment during Thursday’s game.
The veteran NBA referee Mitchell was part of the crew working Thursday’s contest between the Atlanta Hawks and the Brooklyn Nets at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Ga. During the fourth quarter, Mitchell was running back up the floor ahead of a Nets possession when she ran into a cameraman who was filming a fan sitting courtside.
Mitchell, who was following the action, appeared to slam her head against the gear that was mounted on the cameraman’s back. She immediately fell to the court and came up clutching her head in pain.
Here is the video of the incident.
NBA ref Sha'Rae Mitchell WENT DOWN with an injury after hitting her head on a camera operator
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 13, 2026
She was able to stay in the game pic.twitter.com/jHLHvm0t7R
Fortunately, Mitchell was able to remain in the game after a brief delay and finished out her assignment as the Hawks went on to beat the Nets by a final score of 108-97. But that was still a very frightening incident and probably an avoidable one at that given that the cameraman was encroaching onto the court during live play.
Mitchell (No. 98) is in her third season as a full-time NBA referee but had been working games as a non-staff official since the 2021-22 campaign. Around this time last season, Mitchell went viral for her funny impression of LeBron James in the middle of a game.
