JJ Wattdidn’t address any speculation about his next team during a Sunday online Q&A with military service members.
“If I say anything but my wife I’ll get my a– kicked,” quipped Watt, who married soccer starKealia Ohailast year.
Watt says he and Ohai, a forward for the Chicago Red Stars of the NWSL, push each other to train harder, saying it’s “one of the best things about our relationship.”
He says Ohai has him beat on “speed and agility” drills, but adds, “I challenge her on strength activities.”
JJ Watt and Kealia Ohai.Kealia Ohai Watt/Instagram
Watt, whose grandfather fought in the Korean War, praised the service members, saying, “As athletes, we often get the headlines, and fame and praise we don’t necessarily deserve. The people who deserve it are our military heroes who protect our freedom.”
JJ Watt and Chris Jacobs join military service members.Courtesy USO
Watt credited his parents, including his firefighter father and his mother, who worked her way up from being a secretary to a vice president at her company, with instilling the work ethic that has propelled his storied NFL career.
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He also said his parents motivated his charitable giving and community engagement. Most famously, Watt raised $37 millionafter Hurricane Harvey hit Texas in 2017, which as of 2019 had rebuilt over 1,100 homes and provided 239 million meals. He also runs the JJ Watt Foundation, which provides athletics-based after school activities to middle school students.
“The one thing they always taught me was how fortunate we have it, and that not everyone is so lucky,” said Watt, who is currently in Wisconsin andtraining for the upcoming seasonwith his brothers, NFL playersT.J. and Derek.
Bob Levey/Getty.
During the interview, Watt discouraged parents from having their children specialize in a particular sport, saying he benefitted from playing multiple sports at a high level growing up, including hockey, baseball and track.
“That will always be special to me because of what it meant to Houston, and also I got to kind of introduce myself,” said Watt, who added that during his 10 years with the Texans, Houston fans “took me in as one of their own and treated me like family.”
Though Watt — who was released from the Texans earlier this year — didn’t discuss his potential next team, he said he looked forward to the prospect of playing in front of fans again in 2021.
“When there’s no fans, it’s a surreal experience. You can get a sack on third down to secure the game and nobody does anything,” he said.
“They always say you don’t fully appreciate something until it’s gone. And I really missed the fans.”
source: people.com
