Steve Javie

Steve Javie is a former American professional basketball referee for the NBA. Javie retired after 25 years due to an arthritic right knee. Being rated one of the leagues top officials for the last fifteen years of his career, the league was sad to see him go. Javie’s dedication to the NBA was so strong he even tried to return for one more season after experiencing severe knee pain, but simply could not endure it. In the 2011 Finals, Javie was only one of six referees to have the honor of working two games, both Game 1 and 6. Though it was very hard for Javie to face the reality that he was injured and could no longer continue to do what he loves with the NBA, his father, a former NFL judge, counseled him into realizing that it was better for him to leave his work with dignity than to push himself too far. In addition to being a professional basketball referee for 25 years, Javie was also a baseball umpire and started an honorable charity with his wife, an annual golf tournament known as The Javie Foundation for Charity, to raise money for homeless, disabled, abused and neglected children in the Philadelphia area where Javie resides. Since its established, The Javie Foundation for Charity has raised over a million dollars.