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The saga that unfolded between major sports brand Nike and star runner Allyson Felix has been well documented up till this point. Felix, a longtime Nike athlete, did not like how Nike was handling her and terminated their relationship.
Her reasoning was the disrespect that the athletic brand showed her while she was pregnant and still competing. It was a puzzling decision for Nike, given how prominent Felix is in the world of track and field.
They never truly made a statement backing up what they did. There hasn't been much public commentary in favor of Nike's decision, either. Why would they treat one of their most important athletes with such brazen disrespect?
Ultimately, there's no telling why they did it. No one was in those meetings or involved with the decision-making process, at least no one who's been willing to speak up.
The former Olympic champion says she knows what they did and why they did it. According to her, Nike slashed her contract by 70% after becoming a mom. It's unclear how much she was making prior to that, but a 70% decrease is hard to explain.
She also said that they wouldn't protect her earnings if she wasn't able to perform up to her standards in the months immediately surrounding childbirth.
Allyson Felix said:
"If I, one of Nike’s most widely marketed athletes, couldn’t secure these protections, who could?"
Nike did not confirm or deny these allegations, but their silence does speak volumes. Nike was not exactly known for treating all of their athletes with the utmost respect, especially those who wanted to become mothers.
This has since changed, largely thanks to what Felix did in turning them down and moving on. It was a hard decision to make, especially as it left her without a sponsor for a long time during some key events.
The current situation for female athletes, especially those who are embracing motherhood, is much better in the entire industry. This is mainly thanks to Felix but also thanks to how poorly Nike handled this situation.
Why did Allyson Felix decide to go without a sponsor?
Allyson Felix was not shy about revealing how she felt about Nike, but the decision to cut ties with the most prominent brand in her field did not come without drawbacks. A lot of thought went into her decision.
She said she didn't want women to have to go through what she did in the future:
"I didn't want her to have these same battles, you know, 20 years down the line, that I was facing and that so many of my colleagues have faced, so many women before me. I just felt like it was time and no matter how scared I was, I had to step forward and to share my own story."
She also knew that the situation was wholly unfair to women:
"If we have children, we risk pay cuts from our sponsors during pregnancy and afterwards. It’s one example of a sports industry where the rules are still mostly made for and by men."
The athlete initially joined Nike because an employee told her that the company empowers women. Thanks to her, this is more true today than it ever was before.
