Allyson Felix Wants Brands to Value Motherhood- ‘There Has Always Been a Silence and a Fear Surrounding Motherhood?

Six-time Olympic champion, Allyson Felix will compete at the Tokyo Olympics 2021 for the first time as a mother. Since she became a mother to her daughter, Camryn in 2018. She is still striving to win more, and she has revealed the hardships of being a mother and an athlete.

Felix has said that being a mother and sprinter has been difficult. With getting back in shape after pregnancy tough, every mom-athletes require financial backing that can secure their future.

“It?s really hard to balance being a mom and a professional athlete, and the reality is that there?s a certain level of financial support and security that?s necessary to be able to do it,” Felix said.

Felix had recently launched a $200,000 grant that helps athlete mothers with childcare support while they travel across the globe for competitions. The motto behind this is to help these athletes so that they do not have to sacrifice their careers for starting a family.

?When I think about the world that Cammy will grow up in, I don?t want her ? or any other woman or girl ? to have to fight the battles that I fought,? Felix added.

Allyson Felix and her experience with motherhood and career

Felix was at crossroads when she was negotiating her contract with Nike in 2019. The American sports goods giant had offered a 70 percent pay cut and no benefits post-pregnancy. This irked Felix as she wanted to secure her future and her family’s future.

“There has always been a silence and a fear surrounding motherhood in sports. I remember feeling like I had to choose between this sport that I love and my family,”

Felix called out Nike and said that they didn’t value pregnant athletes. Hence she went ahead and signed with a new brand, Athleta in 2019. She was their first partnership, and they offered full post-pregnancy benefits. Now Athleta is growing and even roped in the best gymnast in history, Simone Biles from Nike. Felix has been very vocal about motherhood and how everyone should allow it to co-exist with the athlete’s career.

Read more:?Allyson Felix, Sydney McLaughlin and Gabby Thomas Lead USA Women?s Track Line Up for Tokyo Olympics 2021