Kelsey Plum and Under Armour just dropped a fire new colorway of their Women’s UA Flow Breakthru 4 MHA Basketball Shoes. Featuring a purple to teal gradient upper, teal laces, and a crisp white sole, these shoes were built for women’s feet specifically by women. And the ribbon on the tongue showcases the mental health crisis number.
“Really proud to share my Breakthru 4 Mental Health Awareness shoes. Mental health is very important to me, so these mean a lot to be able to wear!” shared back-to-back WNBA champion Kelsey Plum.
They’re available for purchase on the Under Armour website now, where they retail for $135 USD.
To learn more about why mental health awareness is important to Kelsey, explore Kelsey Plum’s untold story: During Kelsey’s senior college season, she and the University of Washington coaching staff had agreed to an in-depth documentary that would tell Kelsey’s story and pull back the curtain on her history-making season. As the production got underway, they quickly started to realize what was being asked of them was more than they’d signed up for, and that the intent of the film was shifting.
“I had TV cameras following me around on campus, I was on ESPN every other week, I had extra security hired because I would get ambushed at games,” Kelsey says. “For the first time in my life, I was like, woah, this happened so fast. I don’t even know how to deal with it.”
Back in 2017, Washington and other college programs across the country didn’t have the mental health resources and support staffs that teams do now. As the spotlight on Kelsey grew brighter, they didn’t have much to rely on outside of themselves.
Even as Kelsey’s senior season wound down, her life did not. In a span of eight days, Kelsey was in eight cities accepting national awards, negotiating professional deals, attending the Final Four, and walking onto the stage at the WNBA Draft in New York City before turning right around to pack and leave for San Antonio.
Kelsey put her studies on pause for the final quarter of school (she eventually finished her degree while playing professionally in Turkey). It was a lot for anyone to bear, let alone have time to process mentally.
“She had no chance to be a college senior,” Mike Neighbors, Kelsye’s college coach said. “Those are grown adult decisions and interactions, and as much as you want to think you’re grown, you’re not grown at that age.”
On the night Kelsey was selected as the No. 1 pick in the draft, while her family and friends went out to celebrate, she retreated to her hotel room to lay down.
“I was in just a very dark, dark place,” Kelsey said. Read more.
