Like so many other kids, nine-year-old Riley felt the best way to get ready for her upcoming basketball season was to buy her favorite player’s basketball shoes — in this case, Steph Curry’s Curry 5s. But when she visited the Under Armour website, Curry 5s were nowhere to be found under the girls section of the website.
So Riley decided to do something about it.
On November 18, Riley’s father, Chris Morrison, shared a letter on Instagram that Riley wrote to Curry. In her letter, Riley says that she is a “big fan” of Curry’s, and goes to Golden State Warriors games with her father. She says she was “disappointed” that the Curry 5s were only for sale under the boys’ section — and that those shoes were even available for customization!
“I know you support girl athletes because you have two daughters and you host an all girls basketball camp,” she wrote. “I hope you can work with Under Armour to change this because girls want to rock the Curry 5s too.”
On November 26, Liz Plank of Vox shared the letter on her social media, and Teen Vogue picked up the story two days later. The letter’s virality helped get Curry’s attention, and by November 29, he had fixed the problem.
Appreciate you helping us get better Riley! We got you. #MoreToCome pic.twitter.com/UBoTklvwhg
— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) November 29, 2018
In his response, the two-time NBA MVP and three-time NBA champion says that he spent two days talking to Under Armour about how to solve the problem. Unfortunately, the company had only advertised its smaller sizes for boys, even though they can just as easily be worn by girls. By November 29, when Curry sent out his response, the issue had already been solved.
When you go to the Under Armour website now, the Girls’ section of Basketball Athletic Shoes proudly displays the Curry 5s.
Below, you can see what the same page on the website looked like before RIley’s letter.
Curry wasn’t done, though. He said he’d personally send Riley her own pair of Curry 5s, and said she’d be the first to receive the Curry 6 when they come out. Plus, he told the young Warriors fan to be in town on International Women’s Day, which is on March 8.
It’s certainly wonderful to have Curry take this problem so seriously, and to fix it so quickly and thoroughly. And Riley’s letter is a testament to the power of speaking up and holding your idols accountable.
However, the fact that this was a problem in the first place shows how even well-intentioned stars and major corporations have overlooked female consumers and fans in their marketing and distribution strategies. Girls and women buy shoes, too. It shouldn’t take a letter form a precocious nine-year-old to point that out.