J.J. Watt slams "trash" headline that referred to soccer player Kealia Ohai only as his fiancée
Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt called out a local news headline on Tuesday for referring to National Women's Soccer League player Kealia Ohai only as his fiancée. In a searing tweet, Watt called the headline "trash" and urged the outlet to "be better."
ABC Houston on Monday published and tweeted a story about Ohai being traded from the Houston Dash to the Chicago Red Stars with the headline "Houston Dash trade J.J. Watt's fiancee to Chicago."
"This headline is trash," tweeted Watt in response. "Kealia Ohai (which is her name by the way, since you didn't even bother to mention it) is incredible entirely on her own merit and deserves to be treated as such. Be better than this."
Watt's tweet garnered over 30,000 retweets and nearly 300,000 likes, with major brands and organizations supporting his no-holds-barred response.
This headline is trash.
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) January 7, 2020
Kealia Ohai (which is her name by the way, since you didn’t even bother to mention it) is incredible entirely on her own merit and deserves to be treated as such.
Be better than this. https://t.co/82GMrYOv9U
Reebok, which has an endorsement deal with Watt, wrote, "Well said!" along with the clapping and "100" emojis. The WNBA signaled its approval by tweeting two clapping emojis.
ABC Houston also replied to Watt, apologizing and lauding Ohai's talents.
"Hi JJ, Our sincere apologies. We 100% agree with you," the station said in a tweet. "Kealia Ohai is a soccer superstar who deserves her own headlines. We are sad to see her go. She is going to be a force in Chicago! We've loved doing stories on her many talents and accomplishments over the years."
The headline on the story has since been changed to "Houston Dash star Kealia Ohai traded to Chicago."
Ohai has not commented herself, but did like Watt's tweet calling the outlet out.