HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Warrior Sports is an American
sports equipment Sports equipment, sporting equipment, also called sporting goods, are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear used to compete in a sport and varies depending on the sport. The equipment ranges from balls, nets, and protective gear like helmets. ...
manufacturer based in
Warren, Michigan Warren is a city in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The 2020 Census places the city's population at 139,387, making Warren the largest city in Macomb County, the third largest city in Michigan, and Metro Detroit's largest suburb. T ...
. The company currently focuses on
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
and
lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...
, producing sticks,
helmets A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...
,
gloves A glove is a garment covering the hand. Gloves usually have separate sheaths or openings for each finger and the thumb. If there is an opening but no (or a short) covering sheath for each finger they are called fingerless gloves. Fingerless glov ...
,
goalie mask A goaltender mask, commonly referred to as a goalie mask, is a mask worn by goaltenders in a variety of sports to protect the head and face from injury from the ball or puck, as they constantly face incoming shots on goal. Some sports requiring th ...
s, and protective gear for both sports. Warrior entered the
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
market in 2012, producing kits and training equipment for several clubs around the world, although the soccer sponsorship and products were later discontinued with its parent company
New Balance New Balance Athletics, Inc. (NB), best known as simply New Balance, is one of the world's major sports footwear and apparel manufacturers. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, the multinational corporation was founded in 1906 as the New Balance Arch ...
's entry into the category.


History

Warrior Sports was founded in 1992 by David Morrow, a former lacrosse player. The company name is derived from Morrow's roots as a member of the Brother Rice Lacrosse team, the Warriors, in
Birmingham, Michigan Birmingham is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Detroit located along the Woodward Corridor ( M-1). As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,103. History The area comprising what is now the c ...
. The company started out as the first manufacturer of titanium lacrosse shafts, which changed the game due to their strength and light weight. Morrow went on to highlight the breakthrough shaft as he played for the Princeton Tigers lacrosse team. He also went on to be the
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
player of the year. In 2004, the
privately held company A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in the respective listed markets, but rather the company's stock is ...
, New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. obtained controlling interest in Warrior. One year later, Warrior moved into the
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
industry when it acquired
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
–based manufacturer Innovative Hockey. In 2007, Warrior acquired the Boston-based Brine Sporting Goods to further establish their market share in lacrosse.


Sponsorships

In April 2011, Warrior Sports reportedly signed a sponsorship agreement for
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
worth £25 million per season as of the 2012–13 season while Carlsberg reduced their annual sponsorship to just half of that, overtaking the English club record of £23.3 million paid by
Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...
for supplying
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
and the previous deal from
Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...
worth £13 million. On January 18, 2012, Liverpool and Warrior Sports announced a deal between the two organisations, whereby Warrior became the Liverpool kit sponsor effective from June 1, 2012. The new Liverpool home kits were launched on the official Liverpool website on May 11, 2012, and were notable for their classic design and a return to a more simplified club badge. The design was welcomed by most fans but has angered some. This is due to the new kit moving the traditional commemorative symbol for the
Hillsborough disaster The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal human crush during a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the ...
from the front to the back of the kit. On June 5, 2013, the new Liverpool
away kit Away may refer to: Film and television * ''Away'' (2016 film), a 2016 British film * ''Away'' (2019 film), a 2019 animated silent film * ''Away'' (TV series), a 2020 science fiction drama on Netflix Literature * ''Away'' (play), a 1986 play by M ...
was launched for the 2013–14 season. Described as "possibly one of the worst football kits of all time", its reception was overwhelmingly negative, both in the press and from the fans, who quickly took to social media to express their dislike of it. In February 2015, parent company New Balance announced it was entering the global soccer market. As part of the move, all clubs and players sponsored by Warrior would be outfitted by New Balance while Warrior would go back to just hockey and lacrosse going forward. The practice facility of the
Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...
of the
National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
and the home arena of the
Boston Pride The Boston Pride are a professional women's ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are one of the four charter franchises of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL; 2015–2021). The ...
of the
National Women's Hockey League The Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL), is a women's professional ice hockey league located in the United States and Canada. The league was established in 2015 with four league-owned teams and ha ...
is named
Warrior Ice Arena Warrior Arena is an ice hockey arena and practice facility in Brighton, Boston, Massachusetts. The arena is part of a larger mixed-use development being constructed by New Balance at Boston Landing that includes the headquarters of New Balance an ...
. The arena, part of a larger project called Boston Landing is owned by Warrior's parent company New Balance.


Controversy

Beginning in July 2012, Warrior Lacrosse embroiled itself in controversy by launching a Twitter marketing campaign for which users were entered into a raffle to win a free pair of shoes if they used the
hashtag A hashtag is a metadata tag that is prefaced by the hash (also known as pound or octothorpe) sign, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services such as Twitter or Instagram as a form of user-generated ...
#ninjaplease. The campaign has been widely derided throughout the industry and in the lacrosse world. As Warrior was a founding factor in
Major League Lacrosse Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a men's field lacrosse league in the United States. The league's inaugural season was in 2001. Teams played anywhere from ten to 16 games in a summertime regular season. This was followed by a four-team playoff f ...
(MLL) and sponsors all teams, some African-American players in the league have protested, with the possibility of retiring from the league should the controversy not be handled appropriately. Warrior suspended the campaign and the MLL removed all references to it on October 29, 2012, when the meaning of the hashtag used in the campaign came to the attention of officials of both organizations.


References


External links

* {{Sports equipment brands New Balance Lacrosse equipment Ice hockey brands Sporting goods manufacturers of the United States Sportswear brands Warren, Michigan Companies based in Macomb County, Michigan Manufacturing companies established in 1992