Video Shows Parent Confronting Montana Youth Basketball Referee

On November 12, 2026, footage of an incident during a girls’ seventh-grade travel-team basketball matchup in Anaconda showed parent Cassie Congdon rushing toward referee Shawn Wetzel. The incident took place during the Santa Slammer tournament in December 2025. Footage shows Congdon reaching over a barrier toward Wetzel, then climbing over it and making contact before parents and officials intervened. She was removed from the gym, and the game continued.

Wetzel said Congdon struck at him and tried to kick him, then spat on him. He described putting a hand out to keep her back as she came over the barrier. He wiped his face with his sleeve and returned to officiating the game.

On September 10, 2026, Congdon admitted guilt to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly behavior before the Deer Lodge County Justice Court. Kalispell Public Schools accepted her resignation as Flathead High School’s girls soccer coach after an internal investigation into the incident. Wetzel was also let go from his volunteer assistant coaching position with Butte High School. He said he no longer plans to volunteer as a high school coach, but will continue refereeing youth basketball.