Wisconsin Herd HC Chase Buford Apologizes for Calling Referee a 'F--king Clown'

Wisconsin Herd head coach Chase Buford appeared to be cruising toward a straightforward victory over the Grand Rapids Drive on Sunday.

Instead, his team blew a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter of a 126-117 loss before he unleashed a rant on the officiating:

"The officiating definitely went right for Grand Rapids. That was as unprofessional as an officiating performance—I hope you tweet this out and tag the league, because that was embarrassing. Matt Rafferty is a f--king clown. That being said, we have to be so much better at the end of games. We can't blow a 21-point lead with 12 minutes to go. However bad and biased and unfair and illegal and cheating the referees are, we have to be better closing games. So that's the way I feel."

Buford released a statement saying he was "unprofessional" and "embarrassed" while apologizing to the fans and referee Matt Rafferty:

General manager Dave Dean also released a statement saying, "We're aware of what happened with Herd Head Coach Chase Buford after our game today. We're discussing the situation internally and the appropriate discipline for Coach Buford. We will have an announcement Monday."

While Buford was furious with the officiating, his team was unable to stop a balanced attack from the Grand Rapids.

Four Drive players scored 18 or more points with Jordan Bone (28 points and 11 assists) leading the way and Adam Woodbury (20 points and 10 rebounds), Louis King (20 points and 10 rebounds) and Tre'Shawn Thurman (18 points and 10 rebounds) providing key support.