Former NFL quarterback Russell Wilson and singer Ciara have been one of the league’s most celebrated couples. The two recently celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary, expressing gratitude for a decade together. Just days later, however, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy questioned their relationship, wondering why Ciara is with Wilson.

However, Portnoy’s take on the couple drew harsh criticism from around the NFL. Among them was the ex-NFLer Emmanuel Acho, who called out Portnoy and described Wilson as a great father, son, brother, husband, and human being overall.

“We’re used to toxicity in society that when we finally see a good or a quality man or woman, we don’t know what to do with them because our brains are oversaturated and inundated with nonsense,” Acho said on Speakeasy. “It’s like when you sit in a casino, you don’t realize that all you’re inhaling is toxins and smoke that when you finally walk outside through oxygen, you forget what the hell quality air seems like.

“That’s what we’ve done with men and women in society. Russell Wilson, an incredible man. Dave Portnoy, by all accounts, an incredible businessman. Slimeball of a human being, but an incredible businessman. Russell Wilson’s just an incredible man all the way around. I don’t get it, particularly coming from Dave Portnoy, but I’ve never understood the Russell Wilson slander.”

Portnoy took a dig at Wilson after the former Seattle Seahawks quarterback attended Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s wedding at Madison Square Garden, New York, with his wife.

“Ciara’s one of the most stunning women in the world, he’s a zero,” Portnoy said during a recent episode of Wake Up Barstool. “I don’t know how that couple works.”

However, after Portnoy’s co-host pushed back by saying the veteran looked “badass,” Portnoy doubled down, replying, “Yeah, until he opens his mouth.”

Wilson and Ciara started dating in 2015 and tied the knot just a year later, on July 6, 2016. The two shared three children: daughters Sienna Princess and Amora Princess, and son Win Harrison. At the same time, Wilson is also the stepfather to Ciara’s eldest son, Future Zahir. And on July 6, 2026, the couple celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary, where Ciara wrote:

“Since the first day we met… we haven’t stopped laughing, dancing, dating, holding hands, being passionate, praying, forgiving, and having the best time of our lives! I remember saying Yes like it was yesterday, and I would say Yes all over again! Happy 10 Year Anniversary… I’m so proud of us. I love you soooo much!”

While neither Russell Wilson nor Ciara has responded to Dave Portnoy, it’s fair to say his comments about Wilson and the couple’s relationship haven’t gone over well with many.