If there were a penalty for being a misbehaving football wife, Miko Grimes would be buried in yellow flags.
Last week, the not-so-better half of Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Brent Grimes climbed on her Twitter soapbox and attacked Stephen Ross — the owner of the Miami Dolphins, who cut Brent in March — over his decision to keep Mike Tannenbaum on as head of personnel.
“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,” she wrote.
Casual anti-Semitism may be a new low for Miko, but it’s hardly the first Twitter grenade she’s lobbed. During Brent’s three-year tenure with the Dolphins, his wife mocked team quarterback Ryan Tannehill, blasted coaches, and made violent threats against reporters. And Miko, 41, isn’t the only pro-sports spouse creating very public trouble for her man.
Welcome to the world of the social-media-empowered WAG (wife and girlfriend) — the high-profile sports spouse who has a Twitter account and isn’t afraid to use it, even if it risks damaging her husband’s reputation and earning potential.
You have Terricka Cromartie, wife of the New York Jets’ Antonio, trashing her husband’s team on Twitter. There’s Hannah Stocking, the model girlfriend of NBA guard Klay Thompson, airing their dirty laundry by tweeting about finding the Golden State Warrior in bed with a groupie. And even Ayesha Curry, formerly a fan favorite, found herself in hot water during Game 6 of June’s NBA Finals after she wrote that the games were “rigged for money . . . or ratings.”
It’s all enough to anger fans, who, with unprecedented access to athletes and their families through social media, can turn a burgeoning legacy into a joke. It creates a distraction that can throw players off their game. It can make team management think twice about hitching their wagon to controversy. And it can certainly put lucrative endorsements at risk.
The impact on Brent Grimes — a 32-year-old four-time Pro Bowler — has been bad both in the public arena and, reportedly, within NFL ranks.
Back in March, when the Dolphins cut Brent, team owner Ross told the Palm Beach Post that Miko’s venom was a factor in the decision.
“Everybody knows what she represented,” Ross said. “I thought it was best that the Dolphins move on from Brent and Miko.” (A representative for the Dolphins had no comment for this story.)
In December, Miko had tweeted of Dolphins QB Tannehill, “I knew this qb stunk the minute we got signed to this team.” And that was months after she went on an epic Twitter rant brought on by Brent being “yanked” by the NFL from paid appearances, after he missed practice to be with her following oral surgery. “The nfl is the S – – TTIEST, SHADIEST, DISRESPECTFUL professional sport in the WORLD!!!”
‘If you are a marginal performer, [and] teams can find another person who is at your level and can win a Super Bowl without you, then you have a problem [if your spouse is outspoken].’
After Brent was cut, Bleacher Report reported that three NFL general managers said they wouldn’t touch him because of his volatile wife. He was ultimately picked up by Tampa Bay and given a two-year deal worth $16.5 million — but his wife’s reputation puts even greater pressure on his ability to deliver on the field.
“Talent equals tolerance,” says an NFL team executive.
A sports industry insider who has navigated scandalous situations with clients adds, “If you are a marginal performer, [and] teams can find another person who is at your level and can win a Super Bowl without you, then you have a problem [if your spouse is outspoken].”
“[Families] have to let the athletes do their job,” says the sports industry insider. “When it comes to practice, training and playing, that’s a sacred world.”
Tell that to Jets wife Terricka Cromartie. In 2013, she didn’t hold back when she tweeted of a 49-9 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, “This Is just embarrassing the whole team failed to show up today.”
The Buccaneers have been mum thus far on Miko Grimes’ anti-Semitic comments, but NFL sources say that this ugly behavior is ultimately a reflection on Brent — and it might scare away the people who pay him.
When signing a player to a seven-figure deal, “you have to look at the whole ecosystem of who you have around the [athletes],” says the sports industry insider.
Veteran sports marketing consultant Joe Favorito says modern-day athletes are like their own corporations — and a controversial, outspoken spouse can indeed endanger endorsements.
“When [spouses] say something inflammatory, it’s like someone working for [the athlete’s] company” said it, says Favorito. In other words, it’s like the athlete himself endorsed it.
It may sound ridiculously retro to suggest a husband should control what his wife says, but it’s not unfair to expect, within a marriage, that your partner won’t embarrass you.
“It makes you question [Brent Grimes], if he’s enabled his wife to continue to do this. It shows that maybe he thinks it’s fine and doesn’t have an issue with it. Or maybe he just doesn’t have a desire to stand up to his wife,” says the sports industry insider. “But it’s his professional career that is [supporting] the family, so I think it falls squarely on his shoulders.”
Even before the advent of social media, controversial spouses roamed the stands. Brenda Warner, wife of former NFL quarterback Kurt Warner, made headlines in 2002 when she called a St. Louis radio station to complain that it was she — and not Kurt’s coach with the Rams — who made him seek an X-ray for what turned out to be a broken hand, essentially calling his coach a liar.
“Did I talk to her?” Kurt said at the time. “Of course we talked about it.” But even after that, Brenda broke the cardinal rule of discretion and told a radio program that her husband would be seeking a trade from the Rams.
NBA player Stephen Curry tried to make light of his wife Ayesha’s Twitter misstep, when she accused the league of fixing games. “I might have to cut the Wi-Fi off at my house,” he joked.
The fire was fanned when the Warriors lost the championship to Cleveland, and fans — who had previously adored Ayesha, an aspiring food personality and mom to basketball’s favorite toddler, Riley — took it out on her.
“She is paying the price for it. The first couple of weeks after the game, she was posting on social media for her regular [food] endorsement partners and people were just putting ‘L’ [for ‘loser’] comments on her Instagram page,” says the sports industry insider. “She really harmed her and her husband’s brand in the short term. She needs to be careful to not make that mistake again.”
He notes that recent photos of the Curry family at Disneyland seem like planted palate-cleansers. Ayesha even went to People magazine with her apology. “I regret the way that I voiced how hurt I was. I felt hurt for [Steph], and I didn’t mean to offend anybody,” she said. “Obviously, what I wrote is not what I think about what he does for a living.”
Ironically, what was a mini-disaster for the first family of basketball was a moment of clarity for Miko Grimes, who tweeted a bit of advice for Ayesha.
“dear @ayeshacurry: be careful tweeting like me. ur man was drafted & has endorsements n’ s – – t. leave that to those of us w/nothing to lose.”
Still, teams are stepping up the precautions. NFL executive reveals that now, some teams in that league have implemented what amounts to a training camp for the families of rookies.
“They will bring them in and tell them how their son [or significant other’s] life might change — and the role they will play in it.”
In May, New York Giants coach Ben McAdoo offered advice for Twitter-happy family members of players: “My message to anyone on social media is to think twice and hit Send once.”