‘Today’: Jenna Bush Hager Is Banned From Cheering at Her Kids’ Sports Games

“Are you Brenda? Are you the loud one?” Jones asked Bush Hager, who replied, “I’m Brenda.” Jones went on to ask, “You said, earlier today, that you got kicked out of a game?” Bush Hager confirmed that she was once “kicked out” of one of her daughter Mila’s volleyball matches. (Bush Hager shares her three kids — Mila, Poppy, and Hal — with her husband, Henry Hager.)

“Well, I didn’t get kicked out, like, removed immediately. I got put into a free zone,” she explained. “I was watching her [play] volleyball. I love cheering. I mean, I grew up — my dad [George W. Bush] worked in baseball, so we went to, like, 70 games a year, and I would cheer. I love to cheer. I learned how to take core. I knew how to do everything. So, I’m kind of a sports kid.”

Bush Hager added, “But I also really love heckling, but I didn’t heckle at Mila’s volleyball game. … The score was six to seven, and I go, ‘Six seven!’ And Mila looked at me like this.” Bush Hager recreated her daughter’s disgusted reaction, prompting laughter from Jones and the show’s crew.

“I was frozen out. I went to one volleyball game this year because Henry was like, ‘No, no, no. She’s serious,’” Bush Hager revealed. “Now, on the flag football thing, Hal’s like, ‘Don’t cheer. You’re too loud, Mom.’”

Jones said her late husband, Uche Ojeh, used to cheer loudly at their kids’ sporting events and that she would shush him. (Jones shares her three kids — Kayin, Clara, and Uche — with Ojeh, who died at the age of 45 in May 2025.)

“It’s hard because I get quiet and I get nervous and I kind of pace a little bit. Your heart is on the field. Your heart is on the court. You don’t want them to get hurt. You want them to win, especially when it’s a tight game,” Jones shared. “So, don’t get me wrong. It’s exciting. I’ve noticed at the soccer games, the moms, we’re all, like, praying and pacing, and the dads are like, ‘Raaaaah!’ So, they don’t need all of us.”

Bush Hager quipped, “Are you trying to say I’m a dad? [That’s] what you’re telling me? I’m Dad. You’re Mom.”

She ended the conversation with a positive update, telling Jones, “I think I’m gonna be unfrozen for next year. I’m just not gonna try to be the center of attention.”

Bush Hager celebrated Mila’s 13th birthday on Jenna & Friends earlier this month. All three of Jones’ children also surprised her live in Studio 1A on April 14 to celebrate the release of her new book, Through Mom’s Eyes.

Today With Jenna & Sheinelle, Weekdays, 10 a.m., NBC

More Headlines:

• Kathy Griffin Thanks ‘The View’ for Not Banning Her Like ‘Other Shows’
• ‘Outlander’: Sophie Skelton Reveals Scene She’s ‘Gutted’ Was Deleted
• Nattie Neidhart on Joining ‘WWE LFG’ & Campaigning For ‘Total Divas’ Revival
• Jake Reiner Breaks Silence After Rob & Michelle Reiner’s Deaths: ‘This Is My Living Nightmare’
• ‘Abbott Elementary’: When Will It Return for Season 6? Everything We Know So Far