But the offer was rescinded shortly thereafter. When Dee Kantner entered the league in 1997, there was only one other woman by her side: Violet Palmer. The league is ahead of its peers here, although progress must be viewed relatively. Menu. With the NCAA, Kantner has been a referee in over twenty Final Four rounds and over ten championship games in womens basketball. 28 May 1997 Bob Dylan hospitalized in England with histoplasmosis. And whenshe talked, you listened. Hewould scrub the floor. I think she's the best WBB ref, without a doubt. I thought that was awesome. I have older friends who didnt have the opportunity to play sports in high school, or they had one team or they could have been a cheerleader. I would love for you guys to be a part of it.' Dee Kantner has been breaking down barriers for women in sports her entire life. Palmer and Kantner smashed this barrier; those who came after them are trying to stomp on its remains. Much appreciated. These situations are still presenting themselves, Kantner said, and people still need to give voice to the fact that the inequities still exist. "To be honest, I was always out," Palmer told me. 20. There's simply a desire to make this world, and others like it, more accessible. She had way too much integrity to accept my "offer". And to say she's a trailblazer would be an understatement: She crossed over into the overtly masculine world of NBA basketball not only as an African American female, but also as a lesbian. There aren't many great answers for why 17 years passed between women being hired, for instance, although it's understandable why those at the top of today's league prefer to look forward. "Those girls get to see me on this platform, working with men in a male-dominated field.". June is legendary inwomens basketball, saidVicki Davis, the MinnesotaIntercollegiate AthleticConference supervisor ofwomens basketball officials. Sitting at the bar my wife says, do you see who's at our right? Now they have six full-time women (officials). [16] After leaving the NBA, she continued to work in the WNBA as the Director of Referee Development from 2002 to 2004 and was renamed Supervisor of Officials in 2004. That came in 1989 whenshe met Dahlem before a gameat the University of Minnesota. Dee Kantner is a womens basketball referee for the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Grasping it entirely is a struggle. Once she accepted and Courteaus wife, Teresa Dahlem, deserves a great deal of credit for that this woman committed herself to raise the bar in officiating, just as she has since first pulling on a striped shirt. This chain of efficiencystarted with standby officialGina Cross. [15], Kantner remained with the NBA until she was fired in 2002. We'll also hear from Monty McCutchen, senior vice president . Then we headed back to our hotel. "Dee has been terminated,'' NBA vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson said. But she viewed the NBA as a challenge to conquer, plus she took comfort in the fact that at the time, NBA mechanics were actually pretty similar to those she was used to at the women's college level. [7] Before becoming a NCAA Division I referee for the Southern Conference in 1984, Kantner had previously refereed basketball games ranging from elementary school to NCAA Division II. We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on . -Geno Auriemma. That was it. We won't send you spam. In a story published in the Sacramento Bee, Kantner said she was given no warning before being fired and said she is "pursuing all options," which could include legal action. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. After university, she worked in sales engineering. of officials, staff observers and coaches and general managers. Sarah Thomas Becomes First Woman to Officiate Super Bowl. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register. Note: This article is archival in nature. Those two coaches ofcourse they recruited againsteach other, they were in theSEC and it was a tough, toughgame, Courteau said. It was hard tosee that happen, but once wegot all that emotion out, it waspick up the pieces and figureout how to move forward.. I remember being in thelocker room after a game witha basketball crew and afterthe critique, we talked abouteveryones next assignment. Dee Kantner is a women's basketball referee for the National Collegiate Athletic Association since 1984. Violet Palmer in a still from a recent documentary about her career, 'Queen Vee.' 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. Mr. Kantner, a founding member of the Jefferson . The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". Also find out how she got rich at the age of 61. Maybe the pinnacle ofCourteaus career came inher last Final Four as nationalcoordinator. She had a vision of how to besttrain and teach aspiring youngofficials to be their best, withtechnology, with psychology,with actually walking on thefloor with them and trainingand teaching and sitting inclassrooms. NEW YORK, December 16, 2004 Dee Kantner has been named WNBA Supervisor of Officials, it was announced today by WNBA President Val Ackerman. Just ask Dee Kantner, who worked the NCAA national championship game in April. I look over and see Dee Kantner. Recently moved to VA to be with kids and (5) grandkids. These days, Palmer admits she's not as nimble as she was then. Kantner, 74, suffered a heart attack a couple of days ago, which led to multiple organ failure and septic shock, his son said. This was a woman who kept her composure even in the tensest situations and calmly reminded irate coaches that just as they stated their position, it was only fair that she be given the opportunity to counter with hers. She wanted the public to focus on her performance on the court over anything else. Some officials brag about enduring the Courteau Treatment to this day. ESPN.com news services. None of it deterred her -- in fact, quite the opposite. You can either talk to me andIll miss things or you can leaveme alone and let me referee thisgame. With her recent retirement announcement, she took time to reflect upon what that means. She has a pure loving kind heart personality. Kantner began refereeing while at the University of Pittsburgh. Dee Kantner (F) Larry Sheppard (F) 12 Women's Final Four Game Officials 1996 Art Bomegen (SF) Doug Cloud (SF) Wes Dean (SF) John Morningstar (SF) Bob Trammell (SF) Scott Yarborough (SF) Sally Bell (F) Dee Kantner (F) Violet Palmer (F) 1997 Sally Bell (SF) Carla Fujimoto (SF) Ray Bomeli (SF) Mark Johnson, one ofCourteaus cousins from the oldneighborhood, recalled a bornleader. "Once or twice a week in the summer, we would get on a Skype call and spend an hour or two hours talking rules, talking scenarios, situations. [4], While at the University of Pittsburgh in 1982, Kantner became a referee at basketball games for churches. I want toread my book! She kept interruptingme over and over and over again. These included the Pac-10 Conference and West Coast Conference. Today, though, this is frankly the bare minimum; no one in the league office is patting themselves on the back for simply keeping up with the times. No. Shewas clearly inspired by it and keptreading the quotes. Outside of the NCAA, Kantner was a referee at the 1998 FIBA World Championship for Women, 2000 Summer Olympics and the Continental Basketball Association. Oregon player Sedona Prince posted a video that she shot of a workout room for the teams at that site, which was sparse. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Dee Kantner Net Worth. She would take charge rightaway, number one. Kantner was born in Reading, Pennsylvania on May 3, 1960 and had three siblings. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. As the buzzer sounded, the father of one of the boys in the game approached and accosted her over her gender. (Dahlem was born inHershey, Pa.) What has Dahlemmeant to Courteau? 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. She became a basketball official in 1984, was one of the first two women along with Violet Palmer to be hired by the NBA in 1997 and worked her 25th NCAA Womens Final Four in April. When we see one referee get some type of accolade, we highlight it on our pages on social media. We need to continue to keep pressure on the parties who are in control, she said, to recognize women and girls in athletics deserve the same kind of funding, the same kind of attention, the same kind of coaching, the same opportunities (as men and boys). Sitting at the bar my wife says, do you see who's at our right? Dee Kantner is a basketball referee. 30 May 1997 Betty Shabazz, widow of Malcolm X, set afire by 12-year-old grandson. 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 . They just see you put on a shirt, referee, and that's it. She debuted her NBA officiating career with a game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Vancouver Grizzlies. "Dee did it in a day where I'm sure she didn't have that support.". Jurgen Kantner and his wife Sabine Merz (file picture) were both killed. According to Palmer, rumors indicated it was because some men on the NCAA Committee disapproved. My dad was French andmy mother was Greek, shesaid. We were at a Greekspaghetti Christmas party andshe walked in the door and shelooked so happy, Tomlinsonsaid. I'm a relatively new Boneyard member. Natalie Sago, 31, a 2018 addition to the league, had a birthright motivating her: Her father, Dr. Shelton Sago, was a 35-year high school official in Missouri, a local legend in both basketball and football. "I said to the guys: 'You can curse! These goals are attainable now in ways they just couldn't have been even a generation prior. Kantner left engineering in 1984 when she was hired as an NCAA Division I official. The article is made available for educational use by individuals. These women, who collectively had precious few female sports icons as children, now recognize their own role in inspiring a future generation. Her net worth has been growing significantly in 2020-2021. Lisa Leslie was starting tobump as she was coming intothe post and I said, Lisa, easeup in there, ease up, Courteausaid. But she still needed a primary source of income. What sprouted, unknown to either, was the fourth-ever female NBA referee, following league pioneer and recently retired Violet Palmer (1997-2016), dismissed current NCAA ref Dee Kantner (1997-2002 . He needed a body to run, she said. [8] During the mid 1990s, Kantner worked as a salesperson for Cutler-Hammer while working as a college basketball referee. Dee reffed the UNC game tonite. Dahlem, who is just completinga 32-year career in education,the last 13 as principal of OnekaElementary School in Hugo,Minn., almost immediatelysaw that certain something inCourteau. My mother said I had to stop when I was 14 because they were tackling me. Dee entered the career as Referee In her early life after completing her formal education.. Born on May 3, 1960, the Referee Dee Kantner is arguably the worlds most influential social media star. Palmer and Kantner were so much more than just trailblazers; the weight they shouldered eased the burden for all who came after. "Here we are in a very male-dominated space, and the league was very proactive to make sure I had what I needed.". "In recent years, we have focused on expanding our pipeline of officials to greatly increase the pool of potential hires, and we have seen encouraging results, not only in the NBA but in the WNBA and the G League as well," Adam Silver, who became NBA commissioner in 2014, said to ESPN. [15] By 2019, Kantner had remained in her supervisory role with the WNBA for almost 15 years. There were so many parallels between what she was reading and what she was trying to accomplish in her new role. WhatCourteau read in that bookfour years earlier, what she hadtried to inspire during her runas national coordinator, wascoming alive before her veryeyes. Yesterday, a Federal jury in Manhattan agreed, finding that the league had denied her a job because she was a woman and . Legitimate acceptance has come in waves. 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. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. JavaScript is disabled. Andy isin my ear about something andhe was going on and on. She is from United States. In the near two decades she's spent refereeing with the NBA, she has seen her body break down and her ability to keep up with the job's rigorous travel schedule diminish substantially. [9] In 1990, Kantner was a referee at an exhibition game for the LSU Tigers men's basketball team. Allpossibilities were covered andthey had to be activated. Palmer's focus was internal. For me, I had a hard timeseparating being in awe of theofficial and being in awe of theperson.. "I remember learning about Dee and Violet being NBA referees," Holtkamp-Sterling said of her younger self. It was early in Holtkamp-Sterling's young basketball officiating career, years before she'd ascend to the NBA level. In 1997, Kantner was hired as one of the first women referees in the National Basketball Association alongside Violet Palmer. I know some of you don't like her so much, but trust me, she was a very impressive woman. [11] By 1997, Kantner was refereeing for eight conferences at the same time. That makes Kantner the . While that was the most overtly negative experience Holtkamp-Sterling recalls from her career, it wasn't the only one. Dee Kantner NBA Basketball Referee Record. The 62-year-old Kantner, who has lived in North Carolina for a long time, doesnt know where she would be without longtime Exeter girls basketball coach Jean Frey or Exeter history teacher Don Bickel, who convinced her to try cross country as a senior. NEW YORK -- Dee Kantner, one of the NBA's two female referees, has been fired, the NBA said Monday. Learn How rich is She in this year and how She spends money? Certainly not. When you say, Coach, what are you seeing that Im not seeing? people dont realize thats a powerful statement, Courteau said. She remained with the NBA as a referee until 2002. "I'll prove myself amongst them, so they'll look at me as just a referee," Palmer said of her mindset at the time. She is from United States. Of course," Palmer, who retired from the NBA in 2016, said. Kantner, who was fired by the NBA in 2002, said she believes there are more and better opportunities for women in athletics since 1972. As of last season, 11 different women were employed in assistant coaching positions around the NBA. Where would I be without it? I knew of June, ofcourse, and I was definitelyafraid of meeting her. Just as Courteau hasgiven so much to officiating,officiating, in a sense, gaveCourteau her ultimate gift inlife. referees, has been fired, the NBA said Monday. A well-read womanwith an insatiabledesire to cram yetmore knowledge intoher mind was sittingpoolside at an Aruba timesharedwelling in the summer of 2015. Our six experts have officiated a combined 152 . I look over and see Dee Kantner. There won't be a number anymore. Fearless."It's pretty safe to say that Spy was the most influential magazine of the 1980s. She was good when therewas a discrepancy because shewould be able to settle peopledown and talk it out, he said. Kantner remained with the NBA until she was fired in 2002. "And it's even better when the things they see are possible look like them.". Five full-time women in officiating today eclipses the total of the NFL, MLB and NHL combined. View. The two pioneers paved the way for the female refs who make up 8% of the league's 75-member officiating staff. Your choice. He said,OK, June, I got it.. NEW YORK -- Dee Kantner, one of the NBA's two female In that moment, history was made: Palmer became the first woman ever to referee a game in a major American men's professional sports league. "And from the beginning, they have always been supportive of me and my success. February 14, 2021. Cindy Moore, a retiredhigh school administrator inMinnesota who has knownCourteau for more than 20years, recalls both a bridgebuilder and a proactive achiever. "Because I answered those questions early in the process for myself, it helped me create a career that is sustaining and meaningful.". Long time UConn women's fan. Dee Kantner, who started at the same time as Palmer, was fired after five years for "not making sufficient progress in her own development," according to an NBA statement given to the Associated . One place Dee does not go unnoticed is in the Kay Yow Cancer Fund Board room. She played field hockey while at the University of Pittsburgh and graduated with an engineer's degree in 1982. The hiring of Holtkamp-Sterling (the "Sterling" comes from Jonathan, her husband and fellow NBA referee) was a first domino of sorts with Silver's modern NBA, after almost two decades of no upward movement for women referees. One comment she made was that she asked Sarah Hammond if she was 32 - 'cause they worked together for so long! Dee Kantner joined the NBA officiating staff the same year as Palmer, but was fired after the 2001-2002 season. Today, Palmer counts men she worked with among her best friends. Referee Dee Kantner blows her whistle to call a play during the game between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Los Angeles Clippers at the STAPLES. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. [21][22], Kantner was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2019 and the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2022. In the late 90s, LGBTQ issues were seldom discussed, and being a woman in the NBA, she saidand all of the expectations that came with itwas punishingly hard. Even though women are more commonly playing key roles in the NBA now -- as assistant coaches, in the front offices, as broadcasters and . It was a ND game. Im very protective of myself. Looking for a way to soothe anxious nerves, she called Kantner before her first WNBA game, then again before her first NBA preseason game. Ahead of its peers here, although progress must be viewed relatively 1997, Kantner was as! 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