Athletes win the battle against Nike against maternity discrimination

There are several occasions in which we have denounced the discrimination suffered by elite athletes when they decide to be mothers, both with the official bodies that punish motherhood (the case of tennis and football) but also at the level of sponsorship.

One of these brands, which speaks of female empowerment in their advertising and then puts the zancadilla on their athletes is Nike. This was reported by several athletes on their payroll, by ensuring that "The company lowers its contracts when they announce they are pregnant."

Allyson Felix, winner of six Olympic golds, It was one of the athletes who asked Nike not to penalize him in case of lower performance on his return to the competition after being a mother. The brand refused and signed with another sponsor.

Now, months later, the athlete has posted on her Instagram account the email you have received from Nike where you agree to protect and not discriminate against athletes who decide to be mothers. "If the athlete becomes pregnant, Nike cannot apply any performance-related reduction (if applicable) for a consecutive period of a year and a half."

"Our voices are powerful"

With these words, the Olympic athlete announced that the almighty sports brand had finally decided not to penalize its sponsors for simply being mothers.

Our voices have power. NIKE has joined in officially and contractually providing maternal protection to the female athletes they sponsor. This means that female athletes will no longer be financially penalized for having a child. Im grateful to John Slusher and Mark Parker for their leadership and their desire to guide NIKE as a company who believes that we are all more than athletes. And THANK YOU to the brands who have already made this commitment. Who is next

In the email, signed by Nike's vice president of global marketing, John Slusher, the brand promises not to discriminate against athletes who decide to be mothers:

“If the athlete becomes pregnant, Nike cannot apply any performance-related reduction (if applicable) for a consecutive period of a year and a half, beginning eight months before the date of delivery. During that period, Nike cannot terminate any contract if the athlete does not compete due to pregnancy. ”

Allyson accompanies the publication of Nike's mail of some words of his recognition, although he reveals that there is still work ahead.

“Nike has officially and contractually joined together to provide protection to female athletes who sponsor and will no longer be financially penalized for having a child. I am grateful to John Slusher and Mark Parker for their leadership and their desire to guide Nike as a company that believes we are more than athletes. Thanks to the brands that have already been committed. Who's next?".

In Babies and more The reality of elite athletes: they ended it by becoming pregnant (and returned to be world champion)

A long struggle for equality in sport

Photo: Instagram Allyson Felix

Alysia Montaño, Kara Goucher, Allyson Felix, and another dozen athletes have corroborated the practice of the sports company of lowering contracts after motherhood. "Nike told me to have crazy dreams until I wanted a baby" Alysia told the New York Times in May.

The desire to be mothers meant a considerable reduction in salary by the sponsoring company (Nike) and without maternity leave.

Allyson Felix also reported these abusive conditions in the American newspaper, during pregnancy and also later, since Nike offered him an agreement for a value 70% lower after knowing his pregnancy:

"It is an example of a sports industry where the rules are mostly made by men."

In Babies and more An elite athlete shows the marks that pregnancies have left on her belly

The Olympic athlete who decided to start a family in 2018, even knowing that it meant 'the kiss of death' in sports. "It was a scary time for me because I was negotiating a renewal of my contract with Nike, which had ended in December 2017." Add that:

"I felt the pressure getting back into shape as soon as possible after the birth of my daughter in November 2018, although I had to undergo an emergency caesarean section at 32 weeks for a serious preeclampsia that threatened my life and that of my baby."

And while living all this, he had to deal with negotiations with Nike that "were not going well," he says.

"Despite all my victories, Nike wanted to pay me 70 percent less than before. If that's what they think I'm worth now, I accept it."

But he assures that what he was not willing to accept was his position before motherhood:

"I asked Nike to contractually guarantee me that I would not be punished if I did not do my best in the months before and after delivery to establish a change in their standards. If I, one of Nike's most visible athletes, could not get this protection for mothers, who could? "

But Nike refused and she stopped working with them. Explain that this experience is being so heartbreaking because "Ironically, one of the decisive factors for signing with Nike in 2010 instead of with another sponsor who offered me more money, was because he believed in what his basic principles looked like: his commitment to women and girls. "

And only a few months, the issue did not seem to have improved, despite the allegations of those sponsored by the brand.

The same newspaper that the athletes used to denounce, The New York Times, explains that he has had access to a contract for athletic sponsorship of the sports brand 2019 and that it still states that he can reduce the payment of an athlete "for any circustance" if the sponsored person does not meet a specific performance threshold (such as being out of the top five places in a world ranking, with no exceptions for childbirth, pregnancy or maternity).

The controversy was of such importance, that it even reached the United States Congress, who asked Nike executive director Mark Parker to clarify the discriminatory position of the company.

It seems that the brand has fulfilled its promise to end this discriminatory treatment of women, as stated in the communiqué shared by Allyson Felix and that it seems to endorse this controversial clause.

Enough of penalizing mothers!

Photo: capture video Instagram Allyson Felix

Of all the testimonies I read about Nike's discriminatory policy, perhaps the testimony of the athlete Kara Goucher, in The New York Times, it was the one that impressed me the most and I can't help feeling empathy for her. It had to be so hard!

The Olympic runner says that the hardest part of motherhood was when she learned that Nike would stop paying her until she started competing again. And I was already pregnant.

So he sacrificed everything for his career: he planned to run a half marathon three months after having his son Colt, and stopped breastfeeding because the doctor assured him that he had to choose between running 190 kilometers every week or breastfeeding his baby .

His son became seriously ill and had to choose again: being with his son or preparing for the career that would return his livelihood.

He continued training, something that will never be forgiven. And now he can't avoid tears when he remembers that "I felt I should leave him in the hospital to go jogging, instead of being with him like a normal mother would."

In Babies and more A handball player breastfeeds her baby on the court, a beautiful and very natural image of reconciliation

I really hope that women do not have to continue choosing between our work and our children, that we can be by their side, enjoy them without further distractions or consider whether we can feed them the following month because "We waste too much time taking care of them."

And I say it with knowledge of cause, because I went through that stress. I have always been a freelance journalist and during the pregnancy of my second son I was launching a new magazine for a great publishing house. All my bosses were women and still, I had to work until the last day, skipping even monitor control "Because we had to close."

And, the day after leaving the hospital, I was already at home preparing the next issue and doing telephone interviews for another of the media I collaborated with. Also in the hands of women.

The fear of losing your livelihood causes you to sacrifice your family life and then regret having lost a time that will never come back. But that is another story.

For now, I am left with the statement of intentions of my partner Lucy Ortega and that I love: "Work will always be there, but our children will never be that small again."

Photos | Instagram Allyson Felix

Video: 'The Kiss Of Death': Nike Accused Of Cutting Sponsorship Pay For Pregnant Athletes (March 2024).