Allyson Felix is the most decorated female track and field athlete in Olympic history, a true great of the sport. Allyson Felix’s Nike contract expired in December 2017, when Felix became pregnant in 2018, Nike asked her to reduce the terms of her contract and take a 70% pay cut, and allegedly they told her to “know your place and run.” Amid all of this, she was forced to have an emergency c-section seven months into her pregnancy because of a potentially life-threatening condition, and her baby had to live for more than a month in the neonatal intensive care unit. Nike and Allyson Felix parted ways in 2019, and created her own brand of running shoes - Saysh One. In 2020, Allyson Felix qualified for her fifth Olympics in Japan wearing her own shoes under the banner “I Know My Place.”
After a broad public outcry and a congressional inquiry, Nike announced a new maternity policy for all sponsored athletes. The new contract guarantees an athlete’s pay and bonuses for 18 months around pregnancy. Subsequently, three other major athletic brands added maternity protections for sponsored athletes.
““Everyone sees the glory moments, but they don’t see what happens behind the scenes.””