Support Female Athletes In Pursuit Of Dreams, But Sports Brands Are Reluctant To Sponsor Pregnant Athletes.

In recent years, many sports brands have done their best to pay attention to the rights and interests of female athletes, but their practice is actually not satisfactory.

On the mother's day this year, the New York Times released a video.

In the video, Alicia Montano, AlysiaMonta o, said she had been threatened by sponsors withdrawing sponsorship because of having children.

Montano won the national championship five times and also participated in the Olympic Games.

Nike used to be her sponsor.

According to her video recollection, she told Nike that she wanted a child, and their reply was that this is simple. We will suspend your contract and will not sponsor you again.

Later, she chose to switch to Arthur, but during her recovery training, Arthur also threatened to stop sponsoring her.

It made her angry and frustrated.

According to a contract sponsored by New York Times and Nike in 2019, if the performance of athletes fails to meet specific standards, such as the top five in the world, Nike will have the right to reduce sponsorship fees, even if pregnancy, childbirth and maternity leave are no exception.

In response to the New York Times, Nike admitted that some athletes would be reduced due to pregnancy, but the rules were revised in 2018.

In response, Nike did not disclose whether the change was written into the contract.

Then on May 17th, in the United States, Nike issued a statement on its official website, promising to "add written provisions to the sponsorship contract of female athletes to strengthen the implementation of the policy."

Arthur responded by saying that they respect the sponsorship contract of female athletes, and that they will pay the sponsorship fee when they are pregnant and after giving birth.

But in Arthur's sponsorship contract, there is no explicit provision for maternity leave.

It is worth noting that most of the respondents requested anonymity in the New York Times interview because they were afraid of being retaliated or signed a confidentiality agreement.

This may be one of the reasons that the above clause can exist for so long.

For Montano's experience, marathon runner Kara Guchel (KaraGoucher) felt the same way.

She said that the most difficult thing she faced when she was just giving birth was not that the doctor said that running and taking children must be chosen two, but that Nike would stop sponsoring her until she returned to the competition.

In desperation, he had to return to training a week after giving birth, and planned to take part in a half marathon in three months.

Even though her child was ill, she chose to continue training.

"I can only leave him in the hospital and continue training instead of being there like an ordinary mother.

I will never forgive myself for this decision. "

"It's hurting me and my children," said Mr. Gu, crying, "it's a bad choice to return to the stadium so soon.

And looking back on the past, I feel that I have not become the kind of mother I want to be, which makes me feel very worried.

Some people may not understand why Guchel chose to continue training, but for track and field athletes, they do not have professional alliances and teams to pay wages. Almost all income comes from the sponsorship contracts provided by Nike and Arthur. They have to live with the contract.

Moreover, the contract is only to enable them to lead a good life, absolutely not rich.

This is why Phebe White, a track and field athlete (PhoebeWright), said in an interview with the New York Times, "for female athletes, pregnancy is the kiss of death."

If I were pregnant, I would never tell Nike. "

From 2010 to 2016, White was also a signer of Nike.

It is not just sponsors that make these women athletes feel the pressure of life, but also the Olympic Committee of the United States.

According to the relevant regulations, if they can not maintain a high competitive level in the top American competitions, their medical insurance will be cancelled, so is Kara and Alicia.

When asked about this, the explanation given by the US Olympic Committee is that their medical insurance covers pregnancy.

But they refused to answer questions about whether female athletes would lose their qualification when they were unable to compete because of pregnancy and childbirth.

In fact, for women athletes, many of them have to face the pressure of pregnancy and childbirth to their career. Tennis star Serena Williams is no exception.

In 2017, she dropped the world rankings because of having children. She could not play seed in 2018.

The situation has sparked heated debate, and the US internet has announced a new rule that the organizing committee will not punish players who fall due to pregnancy from the start of the US Open tennis tournament in 2018.

In order to counter these injustices, Montano went to the national track and Field Championships twice during pregnancy from 2014 to 2017.

Although her performance is not ideal, she just wants to prove that "you can be a mother and succeed in your career, even in sports."

In fact, athletes did it.

Serena Williams (Serena Williams) won the 2017 Australian Open women's singles championship in eight weeks of pregnancy.

Christie Moore (Kristie Moore) won the silver medal of the women's curling event at the 2010 Winter Olympics when he was pregnant for five months.

Keri Walsh Jenkins (Kerri Walsh Jennings) won the gold medal in the women's Beach Volleyball 2012 Olympic Games in London at the age of six weeks.

Candice Parker (Candace Parker) was absent from the first eight matches of the 2009 WNBA season in 2009 because of her daughter's birth, and became a rebounding king after the return of the season.

For women athletes to nurture their children in their careers, Keri Walsh Jenkins thought, "some people think you are pregnant, you have children, you can not continue to pursue your dreams, this is just talking nonsense."

At present, she plans to take part in the 2020 Olympic Games and strive for the next gold medal.

These athletes' mothers have proved that childbearing does not prevent them from moving forward, nor does it prevent them from doing "Crazy" dreams.