Olympic track and field star Allyson Felix, who is known for being the only female athlete to win six gold medals at the Olympics, has added her voice to the mounting criticism directed towards Nike, claiming that the US sports giant is punishing her for becoming a mother.
In an interesting article in the New York Times, Felix disclosed that Nike made her an offer of a much smaller contract after she took a pregnancy leave of absence in 2018.
The 33-year-old former 200-meter Olympic champion has spoken out, repeating accusations against Nike made by her American teammates Kara Goucher and Alysia Montano.
These allegations have raised questions about the company’s policies and how players are treated; they were discovered during a recent Times investigation.
“They related tales that we athletes knew to be true but were afraid to share in public: having children puts us at risk of receiving lower compensation from our sponsors both during and after pregnancy,” Felix quoted to yahoo.
Nike contested
Felix decided to create a family last year and welcomed a baby girl in December, despite the stress surrounding her negotiations for a new Nike endorsement.
When the American star received a new offer from Nike, it was 70% less than her previous contract. She accepted the terms with grace, saying, “If that’s what they think I’m worth now, I accept that.”
Felix said that she asked Nike to guarantee that there wouldn’t be any fines for poor performance “in the months surrounding childbirth,” but the business turned her down.
Felix said, “My goal was to become the new standard.” “If I, as one of Nike’s most prominent athletes, couldn’t obtain these protections, who could?” Because of Nike’s denial, there is still no resolution.
It is a positive step forward that Nike is committed to standardizing the treatment of female athletes who are pregnant. “I applaud Nike for recognizing this change and look forward to specifics, not just from Nike but from the entire industry,”
Felix said. She underlined that, as she and her teammates hope to demonstrate, “Being pregnant is not a setback; it should be part of a flourishing professional athletic career.”
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