Tag: Kris Ward

Washington Spirit players dispute Kris Ward’s account of his dismissal

“We know his interview to be (a) completely inaccurate recollection”

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.

[lawrence-related id=6479,6343,3852]

Washington Spirit say Kris Ward ousted over record, ‘incident’ at training

Team president Mark Krikorian cited “a combination of factors” in the move

Days after announcing that head coach Kris Ward had been fired, the Washington Spirit provided some—but not complete—clarity over that decision.

The Spirit initially announced the move via a one-sentence tweet on Monday, and on Thursday, team president Mark Krikorian addressed reporters, providing at least to some degree a rationale for removing a coach that helped them win their first-ever NWSL title last year.

According to Krikorian, assistant coach Angela Salem will be the team’s head coach for Saturday’s game against the Houston Dash, and that the club has “identified a potential interim coach, pending a background check.” Krikorian added that the club wants to possibly add an assistant to the coaching staff as well, as former assistant Lee Nguyen came out of retirement earlier in August, leaving Salem and goalkeeper coach Paul Crichton as the only coaches left on the team’s payroll.

Krikorian, who had many years of success at Florida State before joining the Spirit as club president earlier this year, said he is “absolutely not” going to return to coaching, ruling himself out as an interim or permanent option. “It wasn’t that long ago, being on the sidelines, but that was my previous life.”

Citing the club’s disappointing 1W-9D-6L record—Washington’s lone regular season win came in their season opener—and an “incident” at training last week, Krikorian said the club were spurred to act from multiple angles.

“The expectations are to be as competitive as can be, and try and win every game… Up to this point, we haven’t done a great job with that,” Krikorian told reporters in a press conference. “Last Friday, we had a little bit of an incident here at the training ground.”

Krikorian said he wasn’t present at the training session, but that the club notified the NWSL and the NWSL Players Association in the aftermath. That’s in contrast to the last time the Spirit had to fire a coach, which saw the club initially say that Richie Burke was being given a front office position due to a health issue only for extensive allegations of abusive conduct to emerge in the weeks that followed.

Krikorian said that after the Spirit reported the issue, they held multiple meetings with players before concluding that “a change was necessary.” The Athletic reported that the incident in question was a verbal confrontation during a training session, but when asked whether that was a recurring sort of issue or if it had simply been a one-off, Krikorian declined to answer.

Krikorian cited the club’s struggle to get the results they had expected more than once in his remarks, and said that “a combination of factors” caused the club to make the change rather than simply the unspecified training ground incident.

Further details weren’t forthcoming at this point, with Krikorian saying that if there are next steps or an investigation, it will fall to the league and the Players Association.

“It’s complex,” said Krikorian when asked about the club’s nearly three-day radio silence on the matter. “Making sure that everyone is included, and making sure that everyone’s rights are protected, and that we’re following the proper course of action, and things unfortunately don’t happen quickly enough for (media), or all of us, or for our fans, to be able to be as transparent as we’d all like to (be).”

[lawrence-related id=6343,5934,2392]

Washington Spirit abruptly fire head coach Kris Ward

Ward’s time as permanent head coach was significantly less successful than his interim stint

The Washington Spirit announced they have fired head coach Kris Ward.

The defending NWSL champions announced the move in a tweet on Monday, with no other context on the decision.

Ward, who was previously an assistant coach, took over as interim head coach midway through the 2021 season and led the Spirit on an incredible late-season surge that culminated in an NWSL championship.

That run led to Ward earning the job on a full-time basis ahead of the 2022 season. However, Ward’s time as permanent head coach has not gone nearly as well as his stint as an interim.

The Spirit currently sit 11th in the 12-team league’s standings, with a record of 1W-9D-6L. The club is in the midst of a 17-game winless run, with the Spirit failing to win since the first game of the season on May 1.

Ward also turned heads with recent comments on the playing surface at Segra Field, the club’s stadium for half of its home matches in 2022.

“It’s an abomination that a professional game has to be played on something like this,” Ward said.

The Spirit have six games remaining in the 2022 season, with a playoff berth all but out of reach.

[lawrence-related id=6337,6285,5442]

Spirit coach Kris Ward called his own home field an ‘abomination’

Of Segra Field, he said: “I hope we never have to play here again”

Kris Ward is through holding back his feelings on Segra Field.

After a 2-1 loss against the Portland Thorns on Wednesday, the Washington Spirit head coach labeled the playing surface at his team’s occasional home stadium an “abomination.”

The Spirit split their home schedule in 2022 between Segra Field in Leesburg, Va. and Audi Field in Washington D.C., playing five matches at each facility.

But players and coaches alive have not hidden their preference for Audi Field, the home of D.C. United, which holds 20,000 fans in comparison to 5,000 at Segra Field, and features a pristine grass playing surface instead of the turf at Segra.

The Spirit played their last 2022 match at Segra Field on Wednesday, and Ward did not mince words after the game.

“It’s an abomination that a professional game has to be played on something like this,” he told reporters of Segra Field, saying the turf affects players’ ability to accelerate and turn, as well as the speed of the ball.

“I hope we never have to play here again,” Ward added.

Aug 10, 2022; Leesburg, Virginia, USA; Portland Thorns FC forward Morgan Weaver (22) scores a goal against Washington Spirit in the second half at Segra Field. Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports 

As for the game itself, Ward was left frustrated as Portland scored two goals late to turn around a Spirit lead obtained on a bizarre Bella Bixby own goal.

The loss took the defending NWSL champions’ winless streak to an incredible 17 games, with the Spirit failing to win since the first game of the season on May 1.

“It should’ve been three points,” Ward said. “There’s no two ways around it.”

[lawrence-related id=5926,5899,5885]