- Slug: Sports–Allan Houston Feature. 900 words.
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By Joshua Heron
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – Before Allan Houston ended his conversation with Maya Moore at the U.S.A. Olympic Basketball 50th Anniversary celebration in Las Vegas last Wednesday, he called his daughter Rowan. Her overwhelming disbelief upon seeing Moore in the camera frame mirrored her emotions from 14 years ago when the Minnesota Lynx legend and four-time WNBA champion responded to a letter Rowan sent her for a second-grade class assignment.
Whether via mail or FaceTime, communicating with her role model gratified Rowan because she admires what Moore embodies beyond basketball prowess: faith, integrity, sacrifice, leadership and legacy.
Those five words also comprise Houston’s social impact brand, FISLL. The brand aims to disseminate those principles through fashion, sports, technology, mentorship and community engagement. Licensing agreements with the NBA and select colleges, including HBCUs, are thriving, and now the two-time NBA All-Star is stepping into a new arena: the WNBA. Houston believes the obstacles players have endured reflect the brand’s values.
“They truly are leaders in our culture and everything that they’ve been through, they continue to fight,” Houston said. “Think about where we have come in terms of this appreciation for women’s sports and the W. They are putting their life on the line for a few months and not getting paid as much. They go overseas and have to play year-round now.
“They were always champions for social justice, and when they came together in the bubble to protest in solidarity against the racial injustice in our country, they made sacrifices and operated with integrity. If you look at it, you can say that the W embodies these principles as much as anyone.”
The WNBA was attracted to FISLL’s apparel along with the product’s message and, in March 2023, secured a licensing agreement with the brand. More than a year later, in May 2024, the WNBA Players Association joined its employer and partnered with FISLL.
To expand their relationship and advance ideas, FISLL head of merchandise Mark Weber traveled to Phoenix for the WNBA All-Star weekend to meet with team representatives and retail partners DICK’S Sporting Goods, Fanatics and Lids.
“Before its rise, we saw the WNBA as an opportunity to be a small fish in a big pond,” Weber said. “From a merch standpoint, we really want to look at where the whitespace is and even if it’s a small amount of space, go there and have people go, ‘Oh, that’s different.'”
A special product by DICK’S in collaboration with FISLL for WNBA stars Angel Reese, A’ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark will be released later this year, reflecting a recent trend Weber sees in this generation in which young fans are drawn to players as much as they are to teams.
“I don’t want just to highlight the fashion-forward nature of the W,” Houston said. “(I want to) highlight the stories of these players that embody these FISLL principles because there are so many.”
Houston draws on his experiences with former WNBA stars from his years as a New York Knick from 1996-2005 and as a member of the 2000 Olympic team to inspire his desire to work intentionally with the WNBA.
The gold medalist recalled his Bible studies with South Carolina coach Dawn Staley during the Olympics, participating in the 2000 NBA All-Star 2Ball competition with Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon or sharing laughter with former New York Liberty Teresa Weatherspoon.
The relationships, particularly with New York Liberty players like Weatherspoon, Hammon, and Rebecca Lobo, “felt like a bond” as both parties tried to shoulder the weight that comes with playing in the Big Apple.
Houston praised the stars of today and acknowledged their role with the recent uptick in eyes on the sport but recognizes that the quality in women’s basketball isn’t a recent phenomenon.
“People may want to give credit to the last few years, but women’s basketball has always been great basketball,” he said.
He believes today’s players not only understand the league’s bountiful history but, through their play, force others to realize there was quality then and now.
“They are continuing to push the envelope in terms of letting people know the quality and the level that they are,” Houston said. “I think that that’s what’s important. It is that people don’t just look at this just as women’s basketball. You have to really look at the quality and the talent and the depth and layers of what they’re doing.”
As a man stepping into this space, Houston knows in order to help tell their stories through fashion, he has to listen first. Rowan admires her father’s efforts to play a part in advancing the league.
“As a woman, I have always loved basketball. That was my first love,” said the Vanderbilt University high jumper who still shoots jumpers sometimes before track and field practice. “I even wanted to go to the league as a kid, and with my dad being a big name in the NBA, it’s cool to see what he’s doing with the WNBA.”
While the apparel FISLL produces is the tangible product WNBA fans will behold and witness, Houston wants the consumer to capture the essence of the athlete’s inspiring journey.
“It’s great that we can bring people in with the fashion, but what I really want to do is bring them in with the fashion and let them walk out with a message,” he said.
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