At 94, Irene Antone may no longer be carrying a whistle on the basketball court, but Alabama’s first certified female basketball referee still knows what she would do if she were calling games today.

And some players — and their coaches — probably wouldn’t like it.

“I would knock some of them out with my fist the way they do on TV, rolling all over the place, and their coaches letting them get away with it,” Antone told WSFA’s Judd Davis in a recent interview.

That attitude apparently isn’t new. Antone said she made it clear to players and coaches from the beginning that she wasn’t going to put up with any nonsense.

Antone spent decades officiating basketball, but her love for the game started much earlier.

“I just liked it,” Antone told Davis. “There wasn’t anything else to do. I wasn’t going to do anything wrong because I would get a whippin’.”

By high school, Antone had decided she wanted to become a basketball referee. At the time, refereeing was for men, according to WSFA.

That didn’t stop her from showing up for training. The men there initially thought she must have come looking for someone.

“When I went out there, they asked if I was looking for somebody. I told them I wasn’t looking for somebody; I came to train to be a referee.”

When the training was over, Antone became Alabama’s first certified female basketball referee.

She didn’t make much of the distinction.

“I never thought about stuff like that. I tell you like I’ve said all the time. After the game was over, I didn’t need any special praise or anything like that. I just refereed the game.”

Antone officiated during segregation and was the only female referee on the court, according to the news outlet, which reported she spent about 25 years on the court.

Alabama High School Athletic Association records add another piece to her long career. The AHSAA lists Antone as a 2010 recipient of the Greg Brewer Distinguished Service Award and credits her with 32 years of service. The award requires at least 30 years of service in AHSAA sports officiating.

Antone also shared a humorous memory from the court involving her daughter.

Antone recalled that her daughter once sat in the stands laughing during one of her games. When they got home, she wanted to know what was so funny.

“My daughter was at one of my games, and she was just in the stands falling out laughing. I waited until we got home and asked why she was laughing about my game. She said, Momma, you had one curl bouncing up and down on top of your head. So, I had to get a wig just for basketball.”

Decades later, Antone may be remembered as a pioneer and a groundbreaker. But judging from the way she tells the story, she was more interested in calling a good game — and making sure everyone on the court behaved themselves.

Sherri Blevins is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You may contact her at [email protected].