Dee Kantner (left) and Violet Palmer were hired by the NBA in 1997, becoming the 1st women officials in league history.
• Get NBA League Pass TODAY >
You don’t spend over four decades officiating without a true love for the game — just ask Dee Kantner, who’s still making calls on the floor after 41 years.
Along the way, Kantner has made history alongside Violet Palmer, becoming the first two women officials in any major U.S. professional men’s sport when the NBA hired them as full-time referees in 1997.
“People are always coming up to me and asking if I’m still having fun out there,” Kantner said.
“I really am, and I’m almost 65 years old.”
That joy will be on full display over the next two weeks during the NCAA Women’s Tournament. Kantner has been part of the tournament every year since 1992, except for the five years she worked in the NBA.
Officiating is a high-pressure job with the expectation of perfection. For women officials, that pressure is even greater. Palmer’s 18-plus season career as an NBA referee is a true testament to the resilience it takes to not only do the job but do it well, which led her to become the first woman to officiate both an NBA playoff game and an All-Star game.
”Being a referee is a very negative profession at times because everything we do is scrutinized. Someone can always find something wrong with it,” Palmer said.
While the pressures of the job won’t change, what has evolved is the landscape of officiating itself, leading to opportunities that were unheard of when Kantner and Palmer were hired in the NBA. Their journeys weren’t just about making the right calls on the court, but proving they belonged there in the first place.
Kantner and Palmer spoke with NBA.com about their experiences — from picking up a whistle for the first time to breaking barriers in the NBA — and how they continue to mentor the next generation of women in officiating.
The following conversations have been condensed and edited.
NBA.com: It’s March and it’s Women’s History Month. What does it mean to you to be a trailblazer for women in the officiating space?
Dee Kantner: I never looked upon myself as a trailblazer, it’s a label that’s been assigned to us when we started with the NBA. What’s great now is that there are seven [full-time] women on the staff, and I’m glad we have at least progressed to that point.
Violet Palmer: People say to me “You’re the Jackie Robinson of officiating for women.” I appreciate the acknowledgment, but for me as an official, I just wanted to earn my respect from the NBA players on the floor, the coaches, the GMs, etc. I want them to see us out there and know we are the right people for the job.
Today, I can look back and just be extremely proud and humbled that I had a little something to do with the growth of women in this space.
Before making history in the NBA, how did you get into officiating?
Kantner: I did not plan on being a referee, but I was running out of money during my senior year in college. Athletics were always part of my life; I knew the game and thought, why not? After college, I was working a sales and marketing role in North Carolina where I continued to officiate avocationally. But I had this natural inclination and aptitude for it and then started making the rise up through the ranks of women’s officiating.
Palmer: I played [basketball] at Cal Poly Pomona and didn’t want to play overseas, and there was no WNBA then. I used to be a scorekeeper at men’s adult games and filled in on the floor whenever a referee didn’t show up. But I didn’t know it was something people could do for a living. I got a job with the city of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks, and when I went to my first class at my local high school association, I was the happiest person in the world. I finally found something I loved to do.
How did you get on the league’s radar?
Kantner: Darell Garretson contacted me, and convinced me that it would be worth my while. Darell was one of the most brilliant people I’ve ever encountered in officiating. The NBA was at the forefront of having a vision that refereeing (and so many other jobs) should not be gender biased. So kudos to David Stern, Rod Thorn and the league for recognizing that.
Palmer: I think I had worked five straight Final Fours when I got a call from Dr. Aaron Wade, who was Darell Garretson’s assistant. He told me the NBA was looking to train some women and asked if I was interested. At the time, I thought he was joking, but sure enough, he sent me the rule books. For three straight years, I worked training camps with the NBA during the summer and then would work my college seasons. And in 1997, I got a call from Rod Thorn that changed my life.
What were those first couple of years like?
Kantner: It was an anomaly — we looked different, but in the end, everyone just has to remember that we are just whistles out there and have a job to do. The scrutiny was there, driven by implicit gender biases about whether women can handle this job as well as other jobs that supposedly we’re not cut out for.
Palmer: Being in training camp for three years before we were hired allowed players and coaches to get familiar with us. My fellow officials were some of the most loving, respectful and supportive gentlemen I’ve ever been around. As for the players, it wasn’t difficult because there was mutual respect about what it meant to be on an NBA floor. By my third or fourth year in the league, they treated me like any male referee.
Pioneer: Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Violet Palmer’s @NBA debut: First woman to officiate an NBA game (10/31/97) pic.twitter.com/tHPGtz8Jtb
— NBA History (@NBAHistory) October 31, 2017
What’s the impact of witnessing the growth of opportunities for women in this traditionally male-dominated space?
Kantner: Women hired in the NBA today aren’t under the same intense limelight or scrutiny, and I hope that continues to fade, and we reward people based on ability. If we could assess officials with a paper bag over their heads, would we judge them differently? That’s where we’re headed. I’ll keep doing my part, even off the floor, to make an impact.
Palmer: When I turn on the TV and see Sha’Rae [Mitchell] or Danielle [Scott], it brings a smile to my face, knowing I opened up the door and made it normal for them to go out there and follow their dreams. No one can take that away from me, and I’m proud to have made a difference, paving the way for women to get the opportunities they have now.
Dee Kantner has been officiating for 41 years and is currently working in women’s college basketball.
How intentional are you about mentoring young women in the officiating space?
Kantner: Extremely intentional. Officiating is not a career you can do on your own. You have to have a passion for it. But you also have to have strong mentoring with it. There will be exhausting nights and tough moments, like seeing yourself miss a call on TV. When I attend camps, I make the effort to recruit and mentor young women who I think have the ability and the mental state. We still can’t get rid of that implicit gender bias, but we’re going to keep convincing them. We’re going to keep recruiting these strong women to follow in our footsteps.
Palmer: Wherever I go, I’m always talking about officiating and recruiting players, ex-players, student-athletes —even coaches. I tell young girls who love the game there’s always room in officiating, as not everyone makes the WNBA, plays overseas, or coaches. I run a basic referee school with two summer sessions to help young officials develop.
What’s great now is that there are many avenues to get into the space — the NBA, WNBA, G League and even Unrivaled. But when I came through, we had none of that.
* * *
Michaela Gilmer is a producer at NBA.com and TNT Sports.
The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Warner Bros. Discovery.
.