The golden-hearted referee of San Francisco

Cardell Butler poses with the SOMA Stars basketball team. Photo by Ben Trefny. It’s the final game of the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department’s Junior Warriors 8th grade girls basketball league. The SOMA Stars and the Lady Hurricanes take their positions on the court. A tall, wiry man – the referee – steps to the center. He looks at all the girls, smiles, and tosses the ball straight up in the air. Two girls jump for it, and the game is on. This isn’t where Cardell Butler expected to be right now, shortly before his 35th birthday. He could have been playing pro ball before thousands of fans in