BUTTE — A Butte basketball referee says he will never officiate another middle school tournament after a fellow referee was physically attacked by a parent during a youth sports event in December.
Bill Foley, a basketball referee who co-hosts a local podcast about Mining City characters and sports heroes, made the decision after learning about an incident involving referee Shawn Wetzel at the annual Santa Slammer tournament.
"So I won't referee those tournaments ever again because it's just not worth it," Foley said. "There's no administrators there to protect ya. There's no accountability for the coaches there's no accountability for the fans."
During the December tournament, a woman identified as Cassie Congdon jumped a railing and began to punch, kick and spit on Wetzel, according to his account of the incident.
The altercation between Wetzel and Congdon is under investigation by Anaconda-Deer Lodge County law enforcement. The county attorney says once the investigation is complete, a decision will be made on whether charges will be filed.
Flathead Public Schools released a statement confirming that Congdon has resigned as head coach of the Bravettes soccer team. When reached by text message, she asked for 24 hours before commenting, but has not responded to numerous requests.
"It was brave of Shawn to come out and talk about it," Foley said. "He talked about it and kind of brought some awareness to it and if anything good comes of it maybe it'll make parents think twice the way they act at basketball tournaments or any youth sports."
Wetzel is receiving support from people across Montana on various MTN News social media platforms. A Butte sports apparel shop is even advocating for his return to coaching the Butte High boys basketball team, which is experiencing a winning season. T-shirts from Moonshot Athletics with the words "FREE WETZEL" and "LET HIM COACH" are placed over a drawing of the ref with Santa behind bars.
"He knows the game very well, but he understands the players as people, and they understand him," Foley said. "I know one kid had a crisis in his family... first thing he did was call Shawn Wetzel."
In a text message, Butte Superintendent Judy Jonart said the school district is not allowed to comment on personnel issues regarding Wetzel's removal.
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