Nike have promised Mary Earps embarrassing mistake will 'never happen again' after SPOTY win
Nike have promised their mistake involving Mary Earps will "never happen" again following the England goalkeeper's BBC Sports Personality of the Year win.
The Manchester United shotstopper won the coveted prize on Tuesday evening after picking up the Golden Glove award in the Women's World Cup in Australia in the summer.
Earps, who memorably saved a penalty in the final against Spain, beat cricketer Stuart Broad and world heptathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson to the gong.
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She becomes the second consecutive women's footballer to win SPOTY, following in the footsteps of Lionesses teammate Beth Mead.
Earps' popularity soared following her exploits in the World Cup and the fact that Nike did not put the England women's goalkeeper shirt on sale.
That was despite Earps being the reigning Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper.
The decision caused outrage, with Earps describing it as "hugely disappointing and very hurtful".
After initially saying they would be "working towards solutions for future tournaments", Nike eventually made the shirts available and they sold out hours after going on sale, with Earps thrilled at the demand.
And in a new interview, the former Wolfsburg player has received assurance from Nike that the mistake will not be repeated.
"It was more fighting for the principle than anything,” Earps told The Guardian.
“It’s about the message being sent out before being really damaging and now you don’t have that. Representation, visibility, is so important and [now] young girls or adults or whoever wants the shirts can have access to them.
“I’ve had that commitment from Nike that it will never happen again and I’m sure other sports brands will follow suit. OK, we might be complaining there’s not enough, but I’d take that complaint over there being absolutely none, any day of the week.”
Earps' big win was criticised by both Piers Morgan and Joey Barton, who both shared controversial opinions online.
Unfazed, Earps basked in the glory by sharing a six-second TikTok of herself dancing to the song 'Left, Right' by rapper YG, grabbing the trophy and showing it to the camera.
Josh Lawless