PRESS
QUOTES FROM PETITION SUPPORTERS
“Girls like Jerseys too. What better way to motivate our girls? Do the right thing Nike.”
“I would love for my daughter to be able to support these women further by wearing their number.”
“I shouldn’t have to explain to my 11-year-old daughter why she can’t get a Sabrina Ionescu Jersey.”
“We have many young women in our family that ball too and look up to these heroes on and off the court! Hell, I’d buy one for myself. Let’s make this happen!”
“Would buy one for my daughter as soon as they hit the shelves.”
“I went to the Duck store looking for one of their jerseys, no such luck! Let’s be able to rep our teams the right way!”
“Sports are sports no matter the gender! I am proud of all the women’s athletics at Oregon especially the basketball team. We should be able to show our gratitude to them by being able to sport their jerseys”
“Because my 2 little girls look up to these young women!!! Go Ducks!”
“This team is an inspiration to my Daughters. They would love to wear the same jersey as their heroines.”
“EQUALITY!!! These girls are are great role models for all young women. Why is it that women have to do twice as much to get half as far as men do????”
“The UO women’s basketball team kicks ass. Let me rep them with a jersey!!!”
“Our women’s team is an inspiration, and us Ducks should be able to support them!”
“It’s all about equality and I want to be able to wear a #20 of Sabrina!”
“I’m signing this because these women deserve to have official jerseys on the backs of their supporters, idols, UO students, and little girls who strive to be just like them.”
“My daughter should be able to wear the jersey of her favorite players - just like boys can.”
“I would proudly wear the jersey of anyone on this team. (It shouldn’t need to be said but I’ll say it anyway, I’m a man.)”
“Shocked they don’t! Just do it!”
“I would buy them and I know lots of young ladies that would wear them proud.”
THANK YOU
Sports were a big part of my life when I was growing up. They had an impact on who I interacted with socially, they taught me how to be part of a team, how to respect coaches, and how to win and lose. As a kid, I dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player. I loved baseball and was able to watch my favorite player Ichiro Suzuki play for the Seattle Mariners. I would say to myself, “I want to be like Ichiro someday.” I would mimic his batting stance in games and practice, and study his techniques at home. I remember buying his jersey, and I proudly wore it to school so I could show my admiration for him as a player and role model, as well as show my passion for the sport of baseball. I had not given any thought to what wearing an official team jersey meant to me until the 2019 basketball season.
This all began when I wanted to buy an authentic Nike Oregon Women’s Basketball jersey to show my support for the Oregon WBB team. When there were no basketball jerseys that recognized female players to buy, I realized I had taken for granted being able to show support for the male players and teams I admired. Jerseys for male teams and players are a given, it’s time for jerseys to be made that recognize more female athletes so that young women dreaming of becoming professional athletes, and women’s sports fans can support those players and teams.
So I started a petition asking Nike a simple question, why can't we purchase a jersey with a number representing any players on the incredibly talented Oregon Women's Basketball team, but we can buy ones that recognize players from the men's team? Clearly, I'm not the only one who felt this way because thousands of people accross the country signed the petition.
As a man who supports gender equality in all areas of life, I want to believe that if I have a daughter someday, she will get as much respect and support for her athletic, academic, and professional success as a boy her age would. Oregon Women’s Basketball isn’t the only womens sports team that deserves this recognition for their hard work and success, I'd love to see this change across all women’s teams and sports. The outcome of this petition can have a much bigger effect if companies like Nike continue to recognize the success and support of Women’s sports teams by selling authentic jerseys representing the most inspirational players on those teams.
Those who signed the petition no longer have to worry because NIKE IS OFFICIALLY SELLING OREGON WBB JERSEYS!!! Oregon isn’t the only school now, Nike is also selling women’s basketball jerseys from other talented collegiate women’s basketball programs such as North Carolina, UCONN, and Tennessee.
Seeing comments on the petition from men and women like, “My daughter should be able to wear the jersey of her favorite players - just like boys can” and “I shouldn’t have to explain to my 11-year-old daughter why she can’t get a Sabrina Ionescu Jersey” really inspired me to push this petition as hard as I could. The most rewarding part of doing this has been seeing videos of young aspiring female athletes faces light up with excitement when they put on their Oregon WBB jersey. I bought a jersey as fast as I could, and it was so fulfilling to see both male and female fans of all ages wear their new jersey to the game.
Oregon is lucky to have support from a company like Nike. Student-athletes at the University of Oregon get access to some of the finest athletic facilities in the entire country, and get some of the most exclusive gear and equipment in all of college sports. We are immensely grateful for all the incredible things Nike does and provides for us as fans and as a school, I just know that there is more they can do to support gender equality for female athletes around the world.
I knew Oregon was a great school to start the movement of selling more female sports jerseys because I know the University of Oregon has the fan base that supports women’s sports and our Oregon WBB team.
Thank you for supporting this movement, and thank you to the Oregon Women's Basketball team for all their hard work and dediation.
This is the proudest I have ever felt supporting a sports team.
Once a Duck, always a Duck.
- Henry Ammann