shoes . warrior sports type subsidiary industry sporting goods founded 1992 ; 24 years ago 1992 founder david morrow 1 headquarters warren michigan united states area served north america europe asia key people david morrow president & ceo 1 products sportswear sports equipment parent new balance website www.warrior.com ice hockey stick warrior sports is an american manufacturer of lacrosse ice hockey and soccer equipment and clothing based in warren michigan . warrior entered the soccer market in 2012 producing kits and training equipment for several clubs around the world although the soccer sponsorship and products are set to be discontinued with its parent company new balance s entry into the category . contents 1 history 2 controversy 3 sponsorships 4 references 5 external links history edit 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 . the company started out as the first manufacturer of titanium lacrosse shafts which changed the game due to their strength and light weight . citation needed 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 player of the year . in 2004 the privately held company new balance athletic shoe inc. obtained controlling interest in warrior . one year later warrior moved into the ice hockey industry when it acquired california based manufacturer innovative hockey . 2 3 controversy edit 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 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 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 . 4 5 sponsorships edit liverpool s first team wearing the 2012 13 season home kit made by warrior in april 2012 warrior sports reportedly signed a sponsorship agreement for liverpool worth 25 million per season as of the 2012 13 season while carlsberg reduced their annual sponsorship to just half of last year overtaking the english club record of 23.3 million paid by nike for supplying manchester united and the previous deal from adidas worth 13 million . 6 7 8 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 . 9 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 . 10 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 from the front to the back of the kit . 11 on june 5 2013 the new liverpool away kit was launched for the 2013 14 season . described as possibly one of the worst football kits of all time 12 its reception was overwhelmingly negative both in the press 13 14 15 16 and from the fans who quickly took to social media 17 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 . 18 the practice facility of the boston bruins of the national hockey league and the home arena of the boston pride of the national women s hockey league is named warrior ice arena . the arena part of a larger project called boston landing is owned by warrior s parent company new balance . references edit a b what i like ... . with warrior sports founder president & ceo dave morrow . sportbusiness daily . march 17 2011 . about warrior . warrior sports . retrieved may 24 2011 . warrior history . warrior sports . retrieved may 24 2011 . wilson connor november 9 2012 . when marketing goes awry ninjaplease . lacrosse all stars . foy terry november 9 2012 . jovan miller warrior respond to dojo campaign mainstream media attention . inside lacrosse . liverpool s mammoth 25m a year warrior kit deal rewrites the record books . the daily mail . london . april 22 2011 . retrieved may 25 2011 . abelson jenn april 23 2011 . new balance unit in deal with liverpool fc . boston.com . retrieved january 17 2015 . harris rob may 13 2011 . liverpool plans to reclaim record from manchester united . usa today . associated press . retrieved january 17 2015 . liverpool signs new kit deal with us firm warrior . bbc news . january 19 2012 . retrieved january 19 2012 . our new home kit for 2012 13 . liverpool fc . may 11 2012 . retrieved may 11 2012 . liverpool kit launch sparks anger among hillsborough families . bbc sport . may 11 2012 . retrieved may 11 2012 . liverpool new kits should already win worst of the year . fox soccer blog . fox sports on msn . retrieved august 16 2014 . sanderson jamie june 4 2013 . liverpool kit leak horrendous away and third choice kits for 2013 2014 revealed and slammed by fans on twitter . metro news . retrieved august 16 2014 . curtis ben june 5 2013 . new liverpool away kit design merseyside club unveil latest strip for 2013 14 season . the mirror . retrieved august 16 2014 . liverpool away kit unveiled is this why luis suarez wants to quit . the week uk . june 5 2013 . retrieved august 16 2014 . liverpool new 2013 14 kits revealed & they re awful . whatculture.com . february 10 2013 . retrieved august 16 2014 . warrior football . damianpriday.com . june 5 2013 . retrieved august 16 2014 . badenhausen kurt february 4 2015 . new balance challenges nike and adidas with entry into global soccer market . forbes . retrieved february 4 2015 . external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to warrior sports . official website warrior football retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title warrior sports & oldid 730719017 categories new balancelacrosse equipmentice hockey brandssporting goods manufacturers of the united statessportswear brandswarren michigancompanies based in macomb county michigancompanies established in 1992hidden categories all articles with unsourced statementsarticles with unsourced statements from january 2015commons category with local link same as on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog 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