The players of the Washington Spirit pushed back on former head coach Kris Ward’s description of the events leading up to his dismissal earlier this week.
Speaking after Saturday night’s 2-2 draw with the Houston Dash, team co-captains Andi Sullivan and Aubrey Kingsbury began the press conference with a statement they said was on behalf of the entire roster, calling Ward’s account of a training ground incident the week before “completely inaccurate.”
Ward spoke to The Athletic in an interview published on Friday, and characterized the incident as one where he yelled at an unnamed player to leave the field to receive further instruction on a tactical scenario. In the interview, Ward said “It was probably the first time all year that I’ve ever raised my voice to any of the players.”
The Spirit’s players offered a robust disagreement with Ward’s portrayal of the incident.
“We would like to start off with a statement on behalf of the players. Firstly, we’re frustrated that this is necessary, given our history,” began the statement, alluding to the tumultuous events of 2021 that included head coach Richie Burke and former team President of Sporting Operations both being suspended by NWSL after two Washington Post reports of abusive conduct within the team and the front office.
“Secondly, we are angered by Kris Ward’s answers in the piece from The Athletic,” continued the players’ statement. “We know the idiom that there are two sides to every story, but that is simply not the case in this scenario. We know his interview to be (a) completely inaccurate recollection of a serious situation. And furthermore, the apology offered to us last Friday demonstrates a misalignment in his words and his actions towards his team.
“The players fully support the decision of the club to relieve him of his duties as head coach, and we have every intention of cooperating in a proper course of action as it relates to circumstances like this one. We will no longer take any questions regarding his dismissal, or make any further comments on it at this time. We are focused on our current performances, and the rest of our season, and moving forward as a group.”
An NWSL spokesperson confirmed to Equalizer Soccer that there will be an investigation into the incident. Team president Mark Krikorian told media on Thursday that the team had reported the incident to the NWSL and NWSLPA, but declined to say whether any other incidents with Ward had occurred.
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