Spalding Basketball Goals Were Just Recalled

Before you shoot some hoops outdoors, you're going to want to make sure your basketball goal is not one of the products currently subject to an expansive new recall. After receiving more than two dozen consumer reports, including several injury reports, Spalding issued a recall of its Spalding Momentous EZ Portable Basketball Goals, advising consumers to immediately stop use of the product.

Issued on Oct. 22, the recall only affects Spalding Momentous EZ Assembly Portable Basketball Goals. Sold at Academy and Scheels stores nationwide and online at Spalding.com and Amazon.com from May 2021 through April 2022, the recalled basketball goals have a 50 inch or 54-inch acrylic clear backboard with a visible "H-frame" or a 54-inch acrylic clear backboard with aluminum trim, but no H-frame. The backboards for all styles are attached to a black metal pole with a black metal arm. Approximately 13,400 units were sold in the U.S., with an additional 62 units sold in Canada. According to a notice posted by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the recalled product has "Spalding" printed on the front of the black base and "6E" molded on the back. Consumers can further identify the recalled product through the various numbers – 1010, 1011, or 1012 – that are printed to the right of the CAUTION statement on the front of the backboard.

The products are being recalled because "welds in the arm attaching the backboard to the pole can fail and cause the backboard to fall, posing an impact injury hazard to consumers." Per the CPSC, Spalding received a total of 26 consumers reports. Those complaints reported weld failures, with three complaints reporting backboards separating from the pole. Of the reports, there were two injury reports, one involving the backboard hitting a consumer on the shoulder or upper torso, and a second injury occurring after a consumer was hit on the head.

Due to the injury risk the Spalding Momentous EZ Portable Basketball Goals pose, the company advised that consumers immediately stop use of the recalled product. Consumers should contact Spalding, and the company will arrange for a technician to remove the original arm and install a new arm on the goal system to make the product safe for use. In a statement, Spalding said it has "worked in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to conduct a voluntary recall to repair the issue."