Athlete WAGs Fans Can't Stand

For every beloved WAG, there's one that sports fans hate. Although WAG is a widely accepted acronym for "wife and girlfriend," there are obvious levels to the label. For example, there are celebrity WAGs — such as Gabrielle Union, Victoria Beckham, and Giselle Bundchen — who are/were married to and/or dating high-profile athletes such as Dwayne Wade, David Beckham, and Tom Brady, respectively. These three specifically boast an acting career, a singing/fashion empire, and a successful modeling profession. 

There are also the equally important WAGs who are just as well-known as their celebrity counterparts but who built their careers years later. Savannah James and Ayesha Curry, who are married to Lebron James and Steph Curry, respectively, are two of the most famous examples. In recent years, Ayesha has become the face of an impressive culinary empire that includes cooking shows, cookware, and the whole lot. Meanwhile, James has since started several businesses, including a popular juice bar. 

Of course, there are lesser-known WAGs who haven't caught the attention of the sports world. Instead of branching off into separate careers, they've been perfectly content supporting their famous husbands and nurturing their families as they enjoy the perks that come from their cushy lifestyles. Unfortunately, there are just as many, if not more, WAGs who have caught the eye of sports enthusiasts for reasons they'd probably rather not. Sometimes, these worlds intersect.

Married to Rams player Matthew Stafford since 2015, Kelly Stafford has had her fair share of time to wade through some juicy drama. In November 2022, she didn't hold back in rallying for her husband when he suffered a concussion and wasn't promptly put into concussion protocol. However, some fans blamed Kelly for attention-seeking and also questioned her intelligence. One fan tweeted, "How many times has he had a concussion and she's been clueless," before calling Stafford a "Drama Queen" who finds ways of making every situation about herself. Kelly also angered football fans when she threw a pretzel at a fan of her husband's opposing team, according to Outkick. After the incident, Kelly acknowledged that her response was inappropriate.

"Being a professional athlete's significant other, you don't wave want to bring attention to yourself negatively," Kelly shared on her podcast. "I f**king lost it and here we are." And though Kelly used her podcast to acknowledge her faux pas, she's also shared a little too much. Recently, Kelly admitted that Matthew once shared he was finding bonding with his younger teammates challenging, info he probably didn't want to be blasted out online. "I put my foot in my mouth pretty good last week," Kelly admitted during an appearance on Local 4. In 2016, Kelly stirred up a fierce political debate when she condemned Colin Kaepernick for kneeling in support of Black Lives Matter. However, she later apologized and donated $350,000 to social justice relief.

Journalist Miko Grimes has been married to Tampa Bay Buccaneers star Brent Grimes since 2010, and she's spent much of their marriage generating negative attention. In 2015, Miko was arrested ahead of one of Brent's games. After she repeatedly tried to access a barred stadium entrance, she reportedly resisted arrest by the police and assaulted them in the process. She was eventually taken into custody. The next year, Miko went on an antisemitic rant. 

In a since-deleted tweet, Miko wrote, "Gotta respect ross for keeping his jew buddies employed but did he not see how tannebaum put the jets in the dumpster w/that [Mark] sanchez [contract extension] deal." According to the New York Post, Miko was expressing Brent's then-recent firing from the Miami Dolphins, which they accredited, in part, to her past social media behavior. Following the backlash, Miko was slow to apologize for her comments and instead doubled down on Twitter. "Lets see how long it takes for yall fake reaction to end. I say noon. Its almost 10am in LA. Lets see if yall still offended in 2hrs," tweeted Miko. She added, "Yall want me to be the bad guy so bad. And im cool with that. But dont call me a racist u ignorant f**ks! Thats one thing im not."

Although Danica Patrick is the most famous female NASCAR driver in history, she also used to be a WAG. Twice actually. Patrick dated two professional athletes: fellow racer Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2012 to 2017) and NFL star Aaron Rodgers (2018 to 2020). Through her career and relationships, Patrick has drummed up a ton of drama and haters within the sports world. Interestingly, Patrick's drama didn't exactly revolve as closely to her relationships as other WAGs. Instead, Patrick's drama came by way of her confrontations within her sport. 

The Wisconsin native is known for having a fiery personality. According to ESPN, she's even owned up to dealing with anger issues. She's also given out very public verbal lashings to fellow drivers after mishaps during races — except Stenhouse. As the outlet noted, in 2013, Patrick refused to speak to her then-boyfriend during what was probably a super awkward car ride home after he caused her to crash. Today, Patrick is no longer a WAG, as she's not currently dating a pro athlete, but she hasn't gained much favor among fans. Following the death of Sherry Pollex, racer Martin Truex Jr.'s recent ex-girlfriend, who recently passed away from ovarian cancer, Patrick criticized his public statement, according to Fox News. "I avoid negativity on social at almost all costs," she wrote. "Almost.... But this is the most insensitive disconnected statement from a guy that I have never liked. And obviously for good reason." Of course, her comments caused an uproar on social media.

Fashion model Rachel Bush, wife of Buffalo Bills safety Jordan Poyer, has pretty much everything she wants. But according to fans, what she really needs is a filter. Bush has created a great deal of backlash for comments she's made on social media, but few were as contentious as her railing against a COVID vaccine directive introduced by the Bills in 2021. "NONE of us are comfortable with getting the vaccine," she tweeted. "NONE of us should be forced to do so in order to watch our own husbands play live." The backlash varied from defiant ("You do not have a right to spread misinformation.") to sarcastic ("'The Bills Wives Club' scholars I'm sure"). 

The following year, Bush was livid after her husband's charity golf tournament was cancelled when its beneficiary, the non-profit ECMC Foundation, withdrew upon discovery that the event was slated for a golf course owned by Donald Trump. She once again took to social media to attack the parties that bailed out. "The event was cancelled due to the arrogance of others, and then backing out last minute leaving us in a difficult spot to make everything happen properly," she posted, per Fox News, before praising Trump and other benefactors for supporting the tourney. Reaction was mixed, from accolades to outright condemnation from others, per Heavy, posting comments from "Sad to hear you are supporting that criminal," to "The fact that anyone is doing anything to line [Trump's] pockets is just so far beyond me."

Invariably, whenever celebrity coupling hits the news, the topic drifts towards sex, but those perceptions spiked to outrageous heights regarding tennis star Matteo Berrettini and Melissa Satta. Tabloids frequently call her a "sex-mad tennis WAG," while fans claim that she's a headboard-slamming distraction to Berrettini whenever he hits the circuit. The allegation came to light when The Sun revealed in 2023 that Berrettini withdrew from a couple of tournaments after suffering from torn groin muscles, the same injury that affected soccer Kevin-Prince Boateng, to whom Satta was previously married for nine years, a union that produced one son. "How can you write something like that?" asked Satta in the Italian edition of Vanity Fair. "It's unethical. Legitimate hatred."

In the same article, Satta cited a discrepancy in the timeline of Berrettini's injury, which has happened to him more than once. "It's a shame that it's an injury at the same point as the one in 2021, when I didn't know him," she remarked. "But in any case, do I really have to answer to these people?" The short answer is no, but even remaining silent hasn't stopped her haters from mouthing off online. "I receive a lot of messages of insults, bullying and sexism," said Satta, per MSN. "I have chosen to be a public figure, and I accept being exposed and exposing myself on social media, but I'm just trying to have a romantic relationship with another person; I simply want to try to be happy, too."