Real Salt Lake Apologizes for Oversight After JJ Watt’s Tweet
Real Salt Lake welcomed NFL great JJ Watt and former NWSL player Kealia Watt to a game on Wednesday, but they did not receive recognition by name. The MLS team found itself apologizing the following day after JJ called them out for identifying him in a tweet welcoming the family, despite A) Kealia being the one who has played professionally in the sport and B) her growing up in nearby Draper, Utah.
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JJ pointed out that his wife’s accomplishments were “probably worth a mention.”
Just four hours after Watt’s tweet, which drew attention across social media, Real Salt Lake issued an apology for the “honest mistake” and shared a two-paragraph biography highlighting Kealia’s soccer career.
Her impressive background includes four Utah state championships in high school, a national title at North Carolina, and eight seasons in the NWSL with the Houston Dash and Chicago Red Stars.
Currently, Kealia works as an analyst for Amazon Prime Video, and the couple owns a minority stake in EFL Championship club Burnley.
In a related match, Real Salt Lake defeated Burnley 4-1 in Thursday’s exhibition.