Real Salt Lake welcomed a decorated soccer star to America First Field last week — and somehow forgot to mention her. The club's social media team captioned a photo of the Watt family simply as "Welcome to the Riot, @JJWatt and fam." The woman standing next to him? Kealia Watt. Four Utah state championships. Two-time Gatorade Player of the Year. National college champion. USWNT goalscorer. Grew up ten miles down the road.
J.J. Watt, to his credit, wasn't having it.
"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," he posted. "Could probably be worth a mention, but idk."
A local hero, treated like a plus-one
Kealia Watt's connection to that stadium is the whole story. She led Alta High School to four consecutive Utah state titles between 2006 and 2009, played at least one of those at America First Field. She then won a national championship with North Carolina in 2012, spent six seasons in the NWSL with the Houston Dash and Chicago Red Stars, and marked her USWNT debut by scoring 48 seconds in — the fastest debut goal in program history.
Real Salt Lake issued a formal apology on Thursday, writing: "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."
J.J. Watt accepted it gracefully. "Respect and appreciate taking ownership of it. Best of luck the rest of your season."
The Watts attended RSL's 4-1 friendly win over Burnley FC — a club in which they hold a minority stake since 2023. Kealia has also taken an advisory role with Burnley's women's team, citing her experience watching the NWSL grow in the US as part of her motivation.
The apology was the right call. But the mistake itself says something about how women's football credentials still get filtered out the moment a male athlete enters the frame.
