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Under Armour’s new rookie WNBA lineup empowers the next gen of women athletes

Athletes July 24, 2020
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Under Armour has some new members in its elite club.

This week, the company announced its new lineup of rookie basketball stars. Bella Alarie, Kaila “Ky” Charles, and Tyasha “Ty” Harris will be the latest young athletes to join the Team UA roster.

As one of the largest footwear and sporting apparel companies on the globe, Under Armour stays committed to its mission of empowering women athletes.

Alarie was drafted 5th overall in the 2020 WNBA draft by the Dallas Wings.

She started all 106 games during her career at Princeton, and earned an Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American following the 2019-2020 season. She is also a 3-time Ivy League Player of the Year.

Charles joined the Connecticut Suns after being drafted 23rd overall, and played an exceptional collegiate career at the University of Maryland.

She started every game of her career, and is a recent recipient of the Big Ten Medal of Honor, recognizing athletic and academic excellence.

 

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Rookie Year 🖤

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Harris will join Alarie as a member of the Dallas Wings after being drafted 7th overall. She led South Carolina to a 32-1 record her senior season, and is a winner of the 2020 Dawn Staley Award. Her 705 career assists rank her 10th all-time in the SEC conference.

Alarie and Harris will be reuniting after playing together with USA basketball in their high school years. Harris and Charles are also quite familiar with the UA mission, as they each played collegiate ball at two UA-partnered schools.

The women will compete this upcoming season wearing the new UA HOVR™ Breakthru, the company’s first basketball shoe specifically designed for female athletes.

“This is my shot to represent Under Armour in a brand-new way for women ballers everywhere” Charles said.

“I feel like I’m making history in a year where everything is being watched more closely because of the unprecedented challenges we’re all facing.”

The three stars will continue to push the mark for women sports and empowerment as they begin their professional careers.

“These women embody our Under Armour values and they deserve our unwavering support,” Under Armour Basketball Global Marketing Lead Brianna Colón said. “They have a track record of making history and we can’t wait to see what they do next.”

Under Armour has a strong history of female empowerment movements. Its 2017 campaign UNLIKE ANY is one of the most notable projects in recent history.

Ballet dancer Misty Copeland, taekwondo champion Zhang Lanxin, stuntwoman Jessie Graff, long-distance runner Alison Désir, and sprinter Natasha Hastings united to demonstrate how female athletes are above their gender roles.

Initially inspired by the 2017 Women’s March, the video series saw the five athletes moving about in empty spaces to the sound of beautiful spoken word poetry. The videos stressed the importance of the sole individual in their own space, instead of their representation construed by distractions, labels, or generalization.

Under Armour is taking the right steps in representing female athletes as strong individuals. Its continued projects prove the importance of recognizing these athletes for the stars and influential figures that they are.

We look forward to watching this WNBA trio tear up the basketball court this upcoming season.

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