Introducing the UA HOVR Breakthru, Under Armour’s Basketball Shoe Designed Specifically for The Female Athlete
Source: Introducing the UA HOVR Breakthru
In 2018, former Nike exec Drew L. Greer, he also worked briefly at Under Armour, wrote me and gave me direct orders, “You need to highlight African-Americans in the footwear industry.” He gave me a list of people and I began writing the Project + Exec series. This was prior to all of the coverage taking place on various news sites and the recent issues with race inside of the brands. Uncle Drew was at the forefront of that movement. I have continued writing the series, but for a while I stopped. It happened after I wrote a post about an Under Armour employee. When I was writing the series, I had to dig deep to find information. I attempted to keep the posts as straightforward as possible, because I understood that Black employees face a different battle inside of the brands. If I brought attention to someone, it could negatively affect them in their jobs. It was hard to get people to go on the record because lending your name to anything, especially when you’re Black, might end your career. I wrote an entire post about an employee. It was getting a lot of coverage and the employee asked me to delete the post. It was getting too much coverage.
I’m leading with this story because Under Armour is doing things they’ve never done before. They are leading with the story and the people behind the product. It’s something I’ve said for a long time was missing from the brand. The brand lacked soul and purpose. With Under Armour the why was always absent, and because of this, the brand floundered although it grew. Time has a way of catching up. Actually time reveals. Under Armour entered 2020 like their most famous endorser, injured. Then COVID-19 struck and could have been the beginning of a story that looked awfully familiar. UA was becoming Reebok. A brand that was bought by adidas.
Instead, I’m writing back to back posts about positive aspects of Under Armour’s brand building and dedication to the athlete. I’m writing a post based on an article from UA that covers three women on a design team. That’s huge. Considering I was once asked to delete a post about a UA design department person. A month ago I was interviewed in the Baltimore Sun and I stated that UA has made some very good decisions. One was the signing of a trio of WNBA athletes. A play, that if handled correctly, could generate interest in a women’s segment where UA hasn’t been a player at all. I wasn’t talking about basketball. I was talking about training and women’s sportswear.
I had no prior knowledge of any Under Armour plans. I don’t work with the brand, but here it is a month later and UA is rolling out a line of hoops shoes dedicated to women, built, researched and designed by women. The three WNBA rookies they signed, not just as endorsers, but as consultants ( WNBA rookies Bella Alarie, Kaila Charles and Tyasha Harris) will work with another trio of women to inform updates of the shoes. The women who have brought us the UA HOVR Breakthru are, “Under Armour teammates Sasha Chaplin, Jessie Benjamin and Shaneika Warden.”
A Throwback Moment with a Right Now Connection
I will always acknowledge a smart move by a brand, but this wouldn’t be my site if I didn’t talk about the reality of this play. There hasn’t been a moment dedicated to women hoopers since the ’96 Olympics and the Houston Comets championships. Even then, I can research it, I’ll almost guarantee the shoes worn by Swoopes and other players were probably designed by men. The fact that Under Armour has decided to dedicate a project, in basketball, at this time could be considered a bold move, but the timing is in line with what would have been a perfect opportunity to capture considerable sales. The move isn’t bold, it’s logical. In a world, not shaped by COVID-19, ball players would be preparing for the upcoming high school, JUCO and NCAA seasons. UA is delivering a sneaker built for Eastbay and team sales. The September 17th release date would have given some players a chance to test the kicks in open gyms, before the official practices start.
The reality is everything is uncertain. The WNBA season is in playoff mode, but the numbers for viewership and coverage is minimal. AAU was non-existent this year, and we have no idea how collegiate basketball is shaping up. An announcement yesterday that the college season would begin on November 25th was made, but even that is tentative. Some high school hoopers lost their senior season and now this year is in jeopardy for the next round of ballers.
This is going to be a difficult play for UA; but it is also a moment of celebration. It’s a moment built for this year. Women are firing back at misogynistic peers in sports journalism. They are fighting back against ignorant female owners who have aligned with an administration that exacerbated the problems around COVID-19 by denying to share information. Women are in the streets marching, speaking and protecting people in protests against social injustice. This is the year of THE SQUAD: AOC, Rep. Ilhan, Pressley and Tlaib. In the last year women have quit Nike and exposed their sexist policies against women athletes.
Under Armour in every way is on the right side of history… That doesn’t mean that these shoes will sell.
The brand has made the smart decision to go with team sales central in their release by aligning solely with Dick’s Sporting Goods. I was recently asked by Dr. Dwayne Edwards who were the competitors in team sports. I forgot to write him back so I’m answering here. Eastbay, Dick’s, Big Five and Academy. Modell’s used to be one for the Northeast, but they are in bankruptcy. Which is emblematic of the difficulty for Under Armour. Basketball is in decline in the U.S. It has been for while. The game has been professionalized. The heart of the neighborhood is no longer in the sport. Local gyms are closed and haven’t been available for a long time. There aren’t many places to hoop and kids would rather play video games, shoot IG videos or sit on YouTube than to find a place to ball.
This can be seen in the sales of hoops sneakers.
It is a difficult entry into the marketplace, but women are built for the moment and if Under Armour is smart, they will “Find A Way”.