JJ Watt calls out MLS’ Real Salt Lake for slight of wife Kealia

Former NFL star JJ Watt slammed an MLS team for not recognizing his wife, Kealia.

JJ and Kealia, a former United States women’s national team player, attended Real Salt Lake’s match Wednesday, and the club posted a photo of them captioned “Welcome to the Riot, JJ Watt and fam.”

The post holds a photo of JJ, Kealia and other family members walking onto the pitch.

“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,” JJ replied on X. 

“Could probably be worth a mention, but idk.”

Kealia, a Draper, Utah, native grew up under 20 minutes from Real Salt Lake’s stadium in Salt Lake, Utah.

While at Alta High School, a nine-minute drive from America First Field stadium, the soccer legend won four state championships and was named a two-time Gatorade Player of the Year for the state, a three-time first team high school All-America and a three-time All-State selection.

She then went on to play for North Carolina, where she made an instant impact and made the first team All-Atlantic Coast Conference and the ACC All-Freshman Team, and started all four years. 

After college, Kealia spent eight years in the professional soccer ranks, making stops with the Houston Dash and Chicago Red Stars.

In 2016, she made three appearances for the USWNT but never became a regular with the team.

Real Salt Lake posted an apology to social media.

“When we welcomed the Watt family to America First Field, we should have recognized Kealia Watt for exactly who she is,” the post read on X.

“Kealia is a Utah native and one of the most decorated players to ever come out of this state.”

They continued by writing a Wikipedia-esque outline of Kealia’s achievements and added pictures of her and JJ throughout the night.

“@KealiaOhai,@JJWatt — we are deeply sorry. Thank you for all you do for the sport.”