Ari Chambers, A Driving Force In Women’s Sports, Is Having A Ball

For Ari Chambers, who coined the phrase “the WNBA is so important” and lives that truth every day, a collaboration with Wilson on a newly designed basketball felt like a natural extension of her work.

“It’s going into the representation of the WNBA because if we want more equity, we want more visibility towards women’s sports,” Chambers said. “It’s really imperative that we make that investment.”

Wilson agreed, which is why it approached Chambers to help design the ball. The WNBA is having more than a moment — it is a league with greater visibility than at any time in a generation, with no one capturing the zeitgeist more fully than Chambers, and accordingly, the new ball, available this week, is simply a representation of this progress.

On Wednesday, August 17, you can get a first look at the ball, which costs $96.19, at Wilson’s store on Columbus Circle, and meet Chambers where she lives — anywhere there is growth in women’s sports.

The meeting is not coincidental.

Chambers is the creator of HighlightHer, a social network and reporting outlet under the Bleacher Report umbrella. And it is no surprise that with Chambers boldly leading it with her take-no-prisoners approach to telling stories in women’s sports, the Instagram account alone has passed 200,000 followers.

“I don’t think that I ever processed the magnitude of the movement,” Chambers said when asked about that big, round number. “And that’s something that I have to work on myself. But it shows that there’s a demand for it.”

Chambers never rests on her laurels. She could have stayed in the women’s basketball space alone — a place she acknowledged was safer, filled with people she’s known for years, grew up with in many cases — but instead you can find her learning anew, about women’s soccer, even surfing.

“If we’re going to try to make this mainstream, we have to make all women’s sports mainstream,” Chambers said. “So that means I’m out in Huntington Beach covering the U.S. Open surfing. That means that I’m out at AU (Athletes Unlimited), with softball and making content around that. I think that as long as you’re willing to listen, it makes you a better journalist.”

Chambers always listens, and people always listen to her. You can find her everywhere these days, but her true love is the WNBA, where there is a broad understanding of her role in elevating the sport as well.

There is no hidden agenda with Chambers. The ball, which includes nods to her home state of North Carolina, and even whose price reflects critical moments in women’s history — 96 for the year the WNBA was announced, 19 for the 19th Amendment, women’s suffrage — has this message written on it.

“This basketball is dedicated to the future of storytelling & celebrating the game-changing experiences of women and non-binary athletes everywhere.”

It’s hard to think of a better way to sum up the impact of Chambers herself.