You could say Nike is at the center of the professional and collegiate athletic world. Jerseys, spikes, cleats, and even socks are decorated with that famous swoosh. Most athletes dream of gaining a sponsorship from this company and living out their dreams of playing the sport that they have dedicated their lives to, but my question is would as many people support Nike if they knew that they cut the salaries of their female athletes when they become pregnant? 

More specifically, in 2019, even the most decorated female track and field athlete could not transcend this trap. Allyson Felix had won 9 Olympic medals, 6 of them being gold, yet Nike still decided to cut her salary by a whopping 70% when negotiating her contract after they found out she was pregnant with her daughter Cameron. Nike implied that their justification for the reduction was that Felix had a smaller chance of her regaining her athletic prowess after pregnancy; however, there was and is no science to back this up. In fact, there have been countless times where female athletes have successfully proven that pregnancy does not limit their physical capabilities, even with the complex changes in their bodies. Some quick examples are, “Track and field stars including [Allyson] Felix, Nia Ali and Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce [who] all stormed to victory with world championship gold after becoming mothers: Ali in the 100-meter hurdles, 16 months postpartum; Fraser-Pryce in the 100 meters, two years postpartum.” (Tsui, Labors of Love). Does Nike just not have faith in their athletes? Is the financial drawback really so great, that they have to rob some of the greatest female athletes of the money that is going towards the new financial responsibility of a child? Are athletes just something that they can replace when they burn out like a light bulb? This doesn’t sound like a company I would want to represent after dedicating my life to playing a sport, even if they have popular apparel and dominate the sports’ clothing world. 

Felix thought the same thing, so she left Nike. That same year, she joined Athleta (a female founded athletic wear company) , and refocused her energy to not only competing, but empowering young female athletes and mothers all around the globe through the brand. Moreover, she gained 2 spots on 2020 Team USA in the 400 and 4×400 relay. Not only did she qualify, but she earned 2 more medals to add to her collection, one gold and one bronze. While Athleta did provide her with the sponsorship for clothing, Felix was still left without a running shoe provider, and with Nike dominating the track and field world in terms of trainers, spikes, and more, she was left stranded; therefore, so she decided to start her own shoe company to produce her own pair of running spikes and shoes, which are now also being sold to the general public. 

Needless to say, I think Nike lost way more than they would have even if Felix hadn’t gained her prowess back after having her daughter. Their unfair assumptions cost them a leader, motivator, athlete, and most importantly, a mother. Felix now utilizes her self-made platforms to share how her daughter has driven her to become the even better athlete and woman she is today. This proves that doubts towards athletes’ physical and mental abilities, especially pregnant females, should NEVER justify a pay cut. You may be wondering what the solution is to getting Nike to fund success stories like Felix’s that come from having faith in athletes. First, knowledge is power, so reading about things like this and finding brands that emphasize athletic, female empowerment is a start. As for Nike, I believe the solution to rightfully and respectfully paying their maternal athletes lies in a little saying of theirs. I believe it is something along the lines of: Just Do It.

For as long as I can remember, I have been obsessed with bright colors. Something about the purple purse my sister had when she was four or the neon orange t-shirt worn by my cousin for a field day at school always excited me. Bright colors brought life to anything dull and could transform moods with a single glance. It is not surprising that this influenced what I picked off the library shelves as a young child when my mother would take me. I judged books by their covers, only wanting to pick the picture books with the neon pink princess or electric blue turtle. I would not necessarily even read the books, I would just look at the pictures. If younger me was in charge, this was the way things would have stayed; however, one library trip in particular changed this habit.

While I don’t remember my exact age, this occurred around the time when I was being prompted by my teachers to start reading chapter books and record reading logs. I hated reading logs. My mom would give me a timer and only when it had sounded was I allowed to stop reading. The minutes wouldn’t go fast enough. All I wanted to do was get back to playing with my Barbies and American Girl Dolls. That was until this one library trip. My mom discovered a book called Ruby the Red Fairy and told me that I should read it. It was part of the series called the Rainbow Magic Fairies, a small collection of beginner’s chapter books entailing the adventures of fairies to stop an evil villain. There were at least 20 of the books on that shelf and every single one was a different color; therefore, my interest had peaked. I checked out the first three in the series and went home. 

To my surprise, there were no pictures in those books. Younger Macy was convinced that there was no way a book could be fun and interesting without imaged. After complaining to my mother about this very fact, I reluctantly agreed to read the first 10 pages because again, I had another reading log due the next day. That night I read more than I ever had before. I had truly learned what reading was: Imagining stories in your head. My mom couldn’t take the book away. I finished it in two days, only to find a cliffhanger awaiting. I read the whole series over the next few years of elementary school.

As I reflect on what I once thought was my mother’s pointless trick to get a young child to make the transition from picture books to chapter books, I now realize that this transformed me into the reader I am today. I switched from someone who looked for external color to someone who was excited to explore the internal colors that a text could offer. Reading gave me a chance to not just see color, but it prompted me to create a technicolor world in my imagination that just happened to involve the setting, characters, and theme of what I was reading. Even today, I still find texts with strong imagery the most interesting. While my imaginative process may have strayed away from the rainbows and fairies, my love for taking a story and letting it play vividly in my head has and will continue to influence the way I read throughout all my present and future English classes.

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