In a real-life version of 'we are all growing here.' Real Salt Lake was quick to apologize online for an oversight and erasure of Kealia Watt. The social media account of the MLS team was quick to not only say sorry, but to then make sure Kealia was recognized for the person, former player, and current soccer professional she is, and not just for being "JJ Watt's wife." It started as a "roll your eyes" moment, but ended as an opportunity for everyone to grow in awareness.
The story started with the Watt family getting a stadium tour at America First Field. Pictures were taken, good times were had, and little Koa got to see the pitch. The first post came from former Badger JJ Watt with pictures and a caption that read, "Showing Koa where mom won her 4th straight state championship. (7:30 pm kickoff was a little late for Niko)." The start of the whole exchange should have tipped off Real Salt Lake to the soccer royalty in the house, but it didn't.
The second social media post was from Real Salt Lake that showed the Watt family walking in and simply said, "Welcome to the Riot, JJ Watt and fam." Whoops. Quickly and incidentally, Kealia became simply JJ's wife and not the soccer great she is. The team also missed that she's a local soccer legend. Sure, maybe it's more understandable if the sports were different, but Real Salt Lake is a professional soccer team; they should probably know their soccer stars (past and present).
Real Salt Lake made sure to elevate Kealia Watt after the intial erasure
JJ made sure the oversight wasn't missed and posted a snarky quote tweet. 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…
Could probably be worth a mention, but idk."
That quote tweet went viral with over 120K likes and 5.2K reposts. Real Salt Lake was quick to apologize, right the wrong, and learn from the mistake (hopefully). Read their apology in the post below:
We made an honest mistake yesterday and we are sincerely sorry for that.
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) July 16, 2026
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… https://t.co/6p70X3A2QB pic.twitter.com/cT2fNVv6v4
It truly was probably some social media intern who was slapping a photo up of a family, and may have only truly known JJ. However, it's a good reminder of how women are often erased in the sports world, when women like Kealia have their own accomplishments. She arguably has even more than JJ, and for sure in the soccer world. Growing up in the same state and not too far is the icing on the cake, for it makes the erasure even more prominent.
The lesson for anyone and everyone is making sure to keep a fuller perspective. In a world where women's sports are often pushed to the background, men's sports have to do better at elevating.. Real Salt Lake missed a huge chance, and shoutout to JJ for making sure they realized it, apologized for it, and learned from it.
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