This is not an exaggerationand I am sometimes prone tohyperbole, Kantner said. 29 May 1997 Jesse Timmedequas, found guilty of rape / murder of Megan Kanka, 7. Was the buffer Palmer and Kantner created an impenetrable one? I can honestly say that after being around them and getting comments like 'why are you here?' No. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. As the buzzer sounded, the father of one of the boys in the game approached and accosted her over her gender. development that we find that a referee is not making sufficient The NBA welcomed its first female referees in 1997, with Violet Palmer and Dee Kantner joining the ranks. More than anything, it's that normalcy that today's women NBA referees aspire to. She would take charge rightaway, number one. With the NCAA, Kantner has refereed for various Final Four and championship games in womens basketball. There's no magazine I know of that's so continually referenced, held up as a benchmark . But no one, not by a long shot, thinks the work is done. Peter Jackel is an award-winningsportswriter from Racine, Wis. According to our Database, She has no children. Dee Kantner (born May 3, 1960) is a women's basketball referee for the National Collegiate Athletic Association since 1984. "[The NBA] worked closely with me to make sure that the locker room was where I needed it to be as a nursing mother," Holtkamp-Sterling said. Smart. Dee Kantner goes through video clip during orientation training. Occupation: NCAA Division-I women's college basketball official Age: 56 Residence: Charlotte, N.C. As a top women's college basketball official and former NBA referee, Dee Kantner's heard it all. "I see little girls sitting courtside, parents asking me to take a picture with their little daughter," Moyer-Gleich said. Kantner started with the Southern Conference before appearing in the Atlantic Coast Conference and Southeastern Conference throughout the 1990s. Consider a theme like locker rooms. I said, Arewe cool? Kantner started with the Southern Conference before appearing in the Atlantic Coast Conference and Southeastern Conference throughout the 1990s. She played field hockey while at the University of Pittsburgh and graduated with an engineer's degree in 1982. Shes grounded meand we get along so well,Courteau said. Still, there's unanimous agreement that without the groundwork laid by the two trendsetters before them, the path would have been rockier. It stuck for good, always as a term of endearment. Share on Facebook; Tweet this video This article is the copyright of Referee Enterprises, Inc., and may not be republished in whole or in part online, in print or in any capacity without expressed written permission from Referee. I want toread my book! She kept interruptingme over and over and over again. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". On October 31, 1997, with her heart pumping, hands sweating, and the eyes of the entire world upon her, Violet Palmer stepped onto the basketball court at a game between the Vancouver Grizzlies and the Dallas Mavericks. I said, You metsomebody, didnt you? Thatswhen she had met Terry andthats when they got together. Outside of the NCAA, Kantner was a referee at the 1998 FIBA World Championship for Women, 2000 Summer Olympics and the Continental Basketball Association. Those who followed them still faced real challenges. That quote crystalized perfectlywhat Courteau tried to instill duringher many years of excellence asboth a rules master and a bridge ofcommunication with irate coaches andplayers. It was then that she married her longtime girlfriend, Tanya Stine, in front of 130 guests, including some NBA co-workers. Also find out how she got rich at the age of 61. I just looked at them andsaid, Holy smokes! One year earlier, one of the most decorated and respected officials in the history of womens basketball had to be convinced to become the NCAA national coordinator of womens basketball officiating. 2023 Wiki Biography & Celebrity Profiles as wikipedia, Danylo Sikan Wiki, Biography, Age, Net Worth, Family, Instagram, Twitter, Social Profiles & More Facts, Krishn Kanhai (Painter) Wiki, Biography, Age, Wife, Family, Net Worth, Shobu Kapoor (Actress) Wiki, Biography, Age, Husband, Family, Net Worth. Jurgen Kantner and his wife Sabine Merz (file picture) were both killed. I look over and see Dee Kantner. One of the first two women hired to officiate in the NBA, she describes what it's like to keep up with some of America's fastest athletes and how the most devastating moment in her career taught her to persevere. Her love for simply being on the basketball court fused with her desire to prove those naysayers wrong. I would probably be working a different job.. Dee Kantner, Charlotte, North Carolina; Michael McConnell, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Michol Murray, Chandler, Arizona; . Same way she was in Nashville last year. As an official, by definition, Dee prefers to go unnoticed. Referee Dee Kantner looks on during a game played on November 14, 1997 at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Elderly man dies, wife hospitalized after dog attack; arrest made Ink no longer runs dry at studio of S.A.'s child tattoo artist Eat the Street: Hackberry Street She was blown away recently when a friend referred to her as the "Jackie Robinson of officiating." During her time with the NBA, she was the Supervisor of Officials for the Women's National Basketball Association from 1997 to 1998. ESPN.com news services. Hardwood Herstory - Dee Kantner. While Palmer and Kantner are no longer working for the NBA, their legacies live on. In 38 seasons on the sideline in Knoxville, Summitt won eight national championships and 1,098 games, the most in NCAA men's or women's basketball history. [4], While at the University of Pittsburgh in 1982, Kantner became a referee at basketball games for churches. And now that she is walkinginto the sunset as she approachesher 71st birthday in September,Courteau can do so knowing that thejob she reluctantly accepted butembraced once she did has beendone remarkably well. The NBA, like the society it's part of, inches ever closer to true equity. There was a parent in thestands and I think he thoughthe should be coaching, Mooresaid. UFC 285's Shevchenko by the numbers: It all adds up to domination, Infighting of Women's World Cup faves Spain, France, Canada reveals big issues in the sport. No egos allowed,remember? So, how much is Dee Kantner worth at the age of 61 years old? Could she be difficult? Well, ND certainly didn't look like the #2 team in the country. There should be more than that, but theyre making progress. Looking for a way to soothe anxious nerves, she called Kantner before her first WNBA game, then again before her first NBA preseason game. When RU was in Portland for the 2000 NCAA regionals, Dee got my wife, myself and 2 other folks tix to the NBA game at the Rose Garden one of the nights we were out there . Kantner began refereeing while at the University of Pittsburgh. And Ive beenopinionated and strong as awoman. She is a member of famous with the age 61 years old group. Young women shouldn't have to look at officiating, or so many other traditionally male-dominated professions, as rarified air for only the chosen few. From 8-year-olds sitting courtside telling her to get back in the kitchen to fans calling her out by first and last name, Kantner has gotten pretty used to the heckling in her nearly four decades of . "There's no reason why we shouldn't have more women as officials, coaches and basketball executives in our league," Silver said. "This is a man's game, and it should stay that way," NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley once quipped. It was a ND game. Ill tell you what, itsbeen the toughest five years,Dahlem said of Courteauscommitment. Back then, Palmer hardly had time to consider the significance of her accomplishment. One example was around1996 when Courteau served asDahlems assistant coach for theHastings (Minn.) High Schoolgirls volleyball team. Im very protective of myself. 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Those who learned from Courteau likely were peppered with a series of questions from her about a missed call that was made. 28 May 1997 Bob Dylan hospitalized in England with histoplasmosis. Now they have six full-time women (officials). Heres what I remember, Dahlemsaid. But age is age. Great story. and an opportunity for me to go back into the archives. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Palmer and Kantner were so much more than just trailblazers; the weight they shouldered eased the burden for all who came after. My face is seriously laughing. But Courteau has never been one to rest on her laurels and she used that highlighter extensively as she turned the pages of the book in search of potential teaching points and drove Teresa nuts as her wife was trying to read a book of her own at that poolside four years ago. Maybe the pinnacle ofCourteaus career came inher last Final Four as nationalcoordinator. Dee Kantner's income source is mostly from being a successful . But she still needed a primary source of income. Actually I did jokingly offer her $$. "And it's even better when the things they see are possible look like them.". Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt.. Sago, Holtkamp-Sterling, Schroeder and Moyer-Gleich were all on-hand in Clearwater, Florida to celebrate Sago's 30th birthday a couple summers ago (Jelks wasn't yet a full-time official). Always cool. Allpossibilities were covered andthey had to be activated. Lisa Jones knows fitness is key to her officiating success. FILE - Referee Dee Kantner works in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game between Tennessee and Vanderbilt Monday, Jan. 5, 2015, in Nashville, Tenn. Kantner, a veteran referee of . [13], In 1997, Kantner was hired as one of the first women referees in the National Basketball Association alongside Violet Palmer. Dee Kantner has an interesting view of the basketball court. Both Those inside the program aren't the only ones seeing this progress anymore, either. One of the first two women hired to officiate in the NBA, she describes what it's like to keep up with some of America's fastest athletes and how the most devastating moment in her career taught her to persevere. We are most grateful for the true pioneers who stepped into the Title IX era. "Once [my peers] saw that I was about the business and the work and wanting to learn the craft, they were more than willing to open themselves up to teach me.". Title IX had been passed by Congress as part of the Education Amendments of 1972, a few years before Kantner began playing field hockey, basketball, track and, briefly, cross country at Exeter. 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