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The Olympian That Stood Up To A $170 Billion Global Brand, Forced Change, And Got Paid In The Process
The story of Allyson Felix, an 11-time world champion, who stood up to a global powerhouse in her fight for equality.
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Friends,
It’s not everyday you see an olympic champion risk it all going head-to-head with a global sports brand, attempting to enforce change for others - but that’s exactly what Allyson Felix did with Nike.
Let’s run through it…
(Source: New York Times)
The Resume
If you don’t know Allyson Felix by now, you should. Gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated as an 18 year old, Felix passed on a track scholarship to the University of Southern California - going straight from high school to compete in professional track events.
The best part? Felix exceeded all expectations.
As a 9x olympic medalist, including 6 gold medals, Felix went on to win more world championships and Olympic titles than any other female track athlete in history. Nicknamed “queen of the track”, Felix established herself as one of the greatest female athletes of our generation.
As if that wasn’t good enough, Felix decided to champion a larger cause.
David vs. Goliath
In the summer of 2018, Felix and her husband announced their decision to start a family. Typically one of the happiest moments of a couples life, turned into a nightmare for Felix.
In short - When Felix attempted to renegotiate her deal with Nike, her lead sponsor for a decade, their initial offer came in at 70% less than her previous contract. That’s not even the issue - the problem was that Nike was unwilling to contractually guarantee her reduced salary if her performance declined in the months surrounding her pregnancy (Source).
The way Felix articulated her opinion is amazing, and I wouldn’t be able to do it justice by summarizing - so I’ve included a direct excerpt of the article below. It only takes 30 seconds to read, but will change your perspective on the challenges women face in sports due to the unique nature of their role as a mother.
For most of my life, I was focused on one thing: winning medals. And I was good at it. At 32, I was one of the most decorated athletes in history: a six-time Olympic gold medal winner and an 11-time world champion. But last year, my focus expanded: I wanted to be a professional athlete and a mother. In some ways, that dream was crazy.
I decided to start a family in 2018 knowing that pregnancy can be “the kiss of death” in my industry, as the runner Phoebe Wright put it in The Times last week. It was a terrifying time for me because I was negotiating a renewal of my Nike contract, which had ended in December 2017.
I felt pressure to return to form as soon as possible after the birth of my daughter in November 2018, even though I ultimately had to undergo an emergency C-section at 32 weeks because of severe pre-eclampsia that threatened the lives of me and my baby.
Meanwhile, negotiations were not going well. 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 that.
What I’m not willing to accept is the enduring status quo around maternity. I asked Nike to contractually guarantee that I wouldn’t be punished if I didn’t perform at my best in the months surrounding childbirth. I wanted to set a new standard. If I, one of Nike’s most widely marketed athletes, couldn’t secure these protections, who could?
Nike declined. We’ve been at a standstill ever since.
You can read the full letter here.
Crazy, right?
I loved the line “If I, one of Nike’s most widely marketed athletes, couldn’t secure these protections, who could?” because it summarized the issue perfectly. Imagine other female athletes who aren’t elite, that aren’t as marketable to Nike, what happens to them? Felix wasn’t fighting for herself, she was fighting for them.
Felix cut off negotiations with Nike months later, signing a multi-year endorsement deal with Gap-owned athleisure brand Athleta. In their first athlete endorsement deal ever, Athleta included the maternity protections she coveted and branded her as an “Athlete, Mother, and Activist.” for their global campaign (Source).
(Photo Credit: Athleta)
As for Nike, the power of public pressure won out. Shortly after Felix went public in the New York Times, and one congressional inquiry later, Nike announced a new maternity policy for all sponsored athletes. As of August 2019, all new and existing Nike endorsement contracts include guaranteed athlete pay and bonuses for 18 months around pregnancy (Source).
It’s always worth fighting for what you know is right, no matter how challenging it might seem.
Allyson Felix, thank you for reminding us of that.
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Extra Credit
Prefer video over text? I got you covered.
Here is a video summary of Felix’s opinion piece in the New York Times.
(Source: New York Times)
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