Kris Ward is measured when speaking to the media. Last week, however, he hit a tipping point. The Washington Spirit head coach spent much of his media availability voicing frustrations about the state of refereeing in the National Women's Soccer League, and the league's lack of accountability and communication around it.
"It's absolute madness," Ward said in a lengthy rant Wednesday. "It is so beyond the pale."
Washington's 1-1 draw against the Portland Thorns was perhaps the best game of the season thus far and from the outside, it did not seem overly physical -- at least not by the NWSL's typical standard.