article_snippet.sent: Violet Palmer and Dee Kanter were hired by the league in 1997.
article_snippet.sent: Kantner was fired in 2002, though Violet Palmer still regularly runs games in the playoffs.
article_snippet.sent: Violet Palmer and Dee Kanter .
article_snippet.sent: Violet Palmer referees a game between the Orlando Magic and the Denver Nuggets in January of this year .
article_snippet.sent: Violet Palmer is the longest-serving female referee in any of American sport's four major leagues.
article_snippet.sent: Violet Palmer was first hired by the NBA in 1997 and has continued officiating men's basketball to the present day.
article_snippet.sent: Violet Palmer later continued trailblazing, becoming the first woman to ref a playoff game in 2006, between the Indiana Pacers and the New Jersey Nets.
article_snippet.sent: Beyond breaking ground for Violet Palmer gender, Violet Palmer also publicly announced that Violet Palmer was lesbian in 2014, shortly after Jason Collins became the first the NBA player to come out as gay.
article_snippet.sent: Dee Kanter, was hired the same year as Violet Palmer as an the NBA ref but left after several seasons.
article_snippet.sent: Kantner joined the the NBA officiating staff the same year as Violet Palmer, but was fired after the 2001-2002 season.