Violet is best known for being the first female referee to officiate an NBA game, and then a league playoff game (4/25/2006). On February 16, 2014, Palmer became the first female to officiate an All-Star Game in any of the four major United States sports. In 15 years as an NBA official, Violet has officiated 757 regular season games, and 8 playoff games (she retired in 2016). She grew up in Compton and was a standout point guard at Cal Poly Pomona where she led her team to 1985 and 1986 NCAA Division II titles for great coach Darlene May.

After playing, she worked five NCAA Women’s Final Four games and two NCAA Women’s National Championship games. She also officiated in the inaugural season of the WNBA (1997), plus the WNBA finals that year. In 1999, Palmer won the Naismith Award for Official of the Year, the highest college award. Palmer currently serves as a Manager for Referee Development for the NBA and Coordinator for West Coast Conference, Western Athletic Conference, and Pac-12 Conference. She was inducted into the CPP Athletics HOF in 2020. In 2022, Palmer received an honorary Doctorate of Science from her alma mater. In 2024 she was inducted into the WBHOF.