Utah Royals FC
HOUSTON, TX (WSAU) — Is a Wisconsin Sports icon looking to buy into the growing professional soccer scene in the United States?
Houston Texans DE and former Wisconsin Prep football and UW Madison star JJ Watt Tweeted his interest in purchasing part of Utah Soccer Holdings on Sunday. The company owns and operates three professional soccer clubs that play in the Salt Lake City area; Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer, Utah Royals of the National Women’s Soccer League, and Real Monarchs of the United Soccer League’s Championship division.
RSL and the Utah Royals play in the top division of North American soccer for their respective genders. Real Monarchs compete in the second-tier of Men’s Soccer in North America and serve as the top minor-league affiliate of RSL.
Watt says he sees “A club with a great fan base, fantastic facilities in a beautiful setting and most importantly a women’s team that can continue to help grow and amplify not only soccer but women’s sports as a whole in this country.”
It’s worth noting that Watt is married to professional soccer player Kealia Watt, formerly Kealia Ohai, who plays for the NWSL’s Chicago Red Stars and is originally from the Salt Lake City area.
She was playing for the NWSL’s Houston Dash when she met Watt.
Watt has not made any other details of his potential purchase of the company known. Should a deal come to fruition, he would join a growing list of professional athletes to invest in an MLS club in recent years. That list includes former Badgers QB Russell Wilson, who along with his wife Ciara purchased a stake in the Seattle Sounders. Houston Rockets G James Harden owns a share of the Houston Dynamo and Dash (along with boxer Oscar De La Hoya,) and Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant recently bought into the Philadelphia Union.
The sale of the clubs comes after team owner Del Loy Hansen made public statements that were critical of the postponement of several MLS matches last week, including one match that involved RSL. Hansen said the move by the players and league was “like somebody stabbed you and you’re trying to figure out a way to pull the knife out and move forward.” He added that the move disrespected him “profoundly.”
The MLS postponements were made in solidarity with the Milwaukee Bucks, who boycotted last Wednesday’s NBA playoff game against Orlando after the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha. That led to the postponement of all NBA playoff games from Wednesday through Friday. The Milwaukee Brewers also chose to postpone their game on Wednesday with the Cincinnati Reds which was made up on Thursday as part of a doubleheader.
In announcing his intent to sell the business, Hansen said he made his statements too quickly without a pause to “consider the feelings or good intentions of others.” He then apologized for being insensitive and not considering the plight of others.
Hansen has committed to selling the business to someone who will keep all three clubs in the Salt Lake City area and says he and his family will work with new owners to make for a smooth transition. MLS, the NWSL, and USL Championship all released statements saying they are also committed to making the transaction go smoothly.
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