Simone Biles is making her return to the gymnastics arena after years, and it’s nothing short of an emotional ride for her fans. But days before stepping on the beam, Biles hit the headlines again, as her former sponsor Nike, partnered with US Gymnastics to equip all athletes for Paris 2024. The billion-dollar sports apparel brand and the queen of gymnastics parted ways 3 months before the Tokyo Olympics.

Nike will be the official apparel and footwear partner for the USA Gymnastics team, which is in stark contrast to the decision made by Biles, right before she went on her mental health hiatus. But here is the big question: why did she end her sponsorship deal with Nike?

Reasons for Simone Biles parting ways with Nike

Biles left Nike to sign a deal with a womenswear company, Athleta? in 2021 first reported by the Wall Street Journal, and announced the news through a video that she posted on Instagram. In a statement, Biles said, “Using my voice has been very empowering for me, and I am grateful to embark on this new journey with Athleta to inspire young girls and women to do the same.” On her collaboration with the San Francisco-based brand, Biles also stated that the company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion was very crucial to her. She wanted to align with a partner who supported her not just for her profession but also as an individual.

During the signing of the deal, Athleta explained that Biles will be developing her own customized outfits and that she will also be given a platform to support other female athletes as well. In short, they presented her as the face of their brand. Nike faced a heavy backlash for its approach to dealing with female athletes. Allyson Felix also called out Nike for cutting the paychecks of women athletes and went ahead with signing a deal with Athleta. Felix called out Nike for the 70% pay cuts she received due to her pregnancy. Later, she became Athleta’s sponsored athlete in 2019 and launched her own brand, Saysh,” in partnership with Athleta. Years have passed to this incident, and life has come full circle as USA Gymnastics has signed a five-year deal with Nike ahead of the Paris Olympics.

Nike is back with a new deal for the gymnasts

On Thursday, USA Gymnastics expanded their deal with Nike until the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Now Nike will sponsor the apparel and footwear of the men?s and women?s national teams of the United States. This deal is said to be the largest in terms of annual value and total value. LiLi Leung, who was elected as the fourth president of USA Gymnastics, stated that she appreciates that a corporate giant like Nike has trust in them.

Read more: Decades After Getting Banned for Good Deadly Gymnastics Move Resurfaces

Regardless of what happened in the past, Nike must be looking to start things off with a new perspective. Simone Biles must be looking to reclaim the throne that she never lost after her return to the gymnastics arena after two years. Fans must be eager to watch Biles perform all those maneuvers all over again, while Biles will be looking to fix her spot for the Olympics as well.

Watch this story:?Deadly, Dangerous and Banned Side of Gymnastics From Decades Ago Makes an Appearance Yet Again.