NBA player Stephen Curry took a moment from his jam-packed schedule to respond to nine-year-old fan, Riley Morrison, who was dismayed to discover her favorite player’s Curry 5 shoes aren’t listed on the Under Armour website as available for girls.
In the letter, which her father posted on his Instagram account, Morrison wrote, “I asked my dad to buy me the new Curry 5’s because I’m starting a new basketball season. My dad and I visited the Under Armour website and were disappointed to see that there were no Curry 5’s for sale under the girls section. However, they did have them for sale under the boy’s section, even to customize. I know you support girl athletes because you have two daughters and you host an all girls basketball camp. I hope you can work with Under Armour to change this because girls want to rock the Curry 5’s too.”
Curry has been nursing an injury for the past three weeks, which perhaps afforded him the time to not only see the letter but also respond to it on Twitter. In a handwritten letter, Curry explained, “Hey Riley, I appreciate your concern and have spent the last 2 days talking to Under Armour about how we can fix the issue. Unfortunately, we have labeled smaller sizes as ‘boys’ on the website. We are correcting this NOW!”
For her efforts, Curry also promised a comped pair of Curry 6 kicks and an invite. He added, “I want to make sure you can wear my kicks proudly — so I am going to send you a pair of Curry 5s now AND you’ll be one of the first kids to get the Curry 6, Lastly, we have something special in the works for International Women’s Day on March 8th and I want you to celebrate with me! More to come on that, but plan to be in Oakland that night!”
True to his word, a check on underarmour.com reveals the Curry 5 including the customizable version is now available in the girl’s and women’s footwear section of the site. Youth sizing ranges from 2.5-7 and women’s sizing, which is listed using men’s sizing, ranges from 7-16. Given the adult shoes start at what translates to a women’s size 9, there are plenty of female fans of the Curry 5 shoe that wont’ be able to buy them.
In fairness to Under Armour, while Nike on its site provides women’s sizing alongside men’s, sizing starts at a men’s 6. The cold hard truth is that the number of women seeking performance basketball shoes remains a niche audience and for companies as big as Under Armour and Nike, it simply doesn’t make fiscal sense to offer sizing for everyone.
Check out the letter exchange below.
Appreciate you helping us get better Riley! We got you. #MoreToCome pic.twitter.com/UBoTklvwhg
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) November 29, 2018
Curry responds: “We got you!”
Morrison’s letter to Curry
