J.J. Watt made it extremely clear that he isn't going to let anyone disrespect his wife, former NWSL star Kealia Ohai Watt.
On Wednesday night, J.J. and Kealia attended a friendly between MLS squad Real Salt Lake and Burnley F.C. of EFL Championship. The social media team for Real Salt Lake shared a photo of the Watt family walking onto the field along with the caption: "Welcome to the Riot, @JJWatt and fam."
Watt, who has been with Kealia since 2016, put the MLS club on blast for not mentioning his wife by her name.
"The woman in the photo grew up literally down the road, won 4 Utah state championships (1 in this exact stadium), Gatorade Player of the Year twice, National Player of the Year, scored the fastest first goal in USWNT history…" Watt replied. "Could probably be worth a mention, but idk."
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It didn't take very long for Real Salt Lake to issue an apology.
"We made an honest mistake yesterday and we are sincerely sorry for that. When we welcomed the Watt family to America First Field, we should have recognized Kealia Watt for exactly who she is. Kealia is a Utah native and one of the most decorated players to ever come out of this state. Kealia won four state championships with her club and four more in high school, and was a two-time Utah Gatorade Athlete of the Year. She was a U.S. youth national teamer at 13. At the U-20 level, she scored the game-winning goal in the World Cup final," Real Salt Lake wrote on X.
"She started four years at North Carolina, won a national title with the Tar Heels, then went No. 2 overall in the NWSL draft to the Houston Dash, and was the franchise’s first-ever college pick. She then became their captain with 114 appearances and 28 goals. Kealia finished her career with the Chicago Stars (then known as the Red Stars) and is now a soccer analyst for Amazon Prime Video. @KealiaOhai , @JJWatt — we are deeply sorry. Thank you for all you do for the sport."
J.J. and Kealia are invested in Burnley Football Club.
Back in May 2023, J.J. and Kealia officially invested in Burnley Football Club. That news wasn't that surprising considering Kealia's roots.
"I've only been retired for about four months now, but I really need something to do," J.J. Watt jokingly said in a video. "We are going to invest in European football. We don't have 'buy an entire European football club' kind of money, we're more along the lines of minority investment but massive emotional investment."
We'll see if the Watt family eventually takes ownership in another sports team.
