We are used to seeing sports stars plastered all over everything from cereal boxes to Snuggies. Endorsements are just the name of the game, no matter who the athlete is. The bigger the star, the more products their name will sell.
Steph Curry is, if not the biggest name in basketball, at least number 2. He's been racking up points, championships, and fans all along the way. So naturally he has plenty of lines of merchandise flying off the shelves including jerseys, workout gear and, of course, shoes.
One big Curry fan was disappointed however. Little Riley Morrison was looking for a pair of Curry 5 basketball shoes but couldn't find any in her size. Actually, she couldn't find any offered in girls' sizes at all.
Much like Curry himself, she decided to work for what she wanted. She sent him a message to let him know how she felt.
"Dear Stephen Curry,
My name is Riley (just like your daughter), I'm 9-years-old from Napa, California. I am a big fan of yours. I enjoy going to Warriors' games with my dad. I asked my dad to buy me the new Curry 5's because I am starting a new basketball season. My dad and I visited the UnderArmour 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 boys' 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 UnderArmour to change this because girls want to rock the Curry 5's too.
Sincerely,
Riley Morrison"
Social media is many things, and not all of them are good, but it is great for calling out brands. What's interesting however is that this letter wasn't released on social media, it didn't get any airtime on TV and it would have been so easy to bury it in the mountain of fan mail that Curry no doubt receives.
Maybe it's because she had his daughter's name, or maybe it's because he is a great ambassador for equal opportunities for young girls, but Curry didn't bury the letter. He actually took the time to respond to the young girl.
Riley's letter made an immediate impact. Curry says that smaller sizes were incorrectly labeled and phoned UnderArmour personally to get them to fix it. He didn't stop there however. He is sending Riley a pair of Curry 5's and said that as soon as Curry 6's became available she'd be getting a pair of those too!
Curry is a special kind of athlete, he wins people over in interviews just as much as he does when he's on the court. He writes in his letter back to Riley:
"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!"
Steph Curry got called out in a big way by a 9-year-old girl, and he stepped up. We'd like to see more athletes respond like this!