Nike women are the focus of its latest inspirational ad campaign, which in particular emphasises the US women’s soccer team. Kind of ironic given this opinion piece in the New York Times by Alysia Montaño, who was dropped by Nike after she became pregnant:
Sports take a heavy toll on the human body, and sponsors accommodate this with time off for injuries. But rarely do they offer enough time off to have a child.
The four Nike executives who negotiate contracts for track and field athletes are all men.
“Getting pregnant is the kiss of death for a female athlete,” said Phoebe Wright, who was a runner sponsored by Nike from 2010 through 2016. “There’s no way I’d tell Nike if I were pregnant.”