Allyson Felix: Building her own shoe brand despite disappointment at Nike

Did you know that when Allyson Felix was pregnant Nike offered to pay her 70% less due to her pregnancy?

Felix split with the brand in 2019. This was after earning eighteen Olympic and world medals while under contract with Nike. Felix is the most decorated track and field Olympian in United States history!

“What I’m not willing to accept is the enduring status quo around maternity. I asked Nike to contractually guarantee that I wouldn’t be punished if I didn’t perform at my best in the months surrounding childbirth. I wanted to set a new standard. If I, one of Nike’s most widely marketed athletes, couldn’t secure these protections, who could? Nike declined. We’ve been at a standstill ever since.”

Like a true boss, Felix is yet another example that Black Women Handle Business!!  She has started her own shoe brand! Her company’s first product, the Saysh One sneaker, is available for pre-order from Saysh for $150.

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Consumers can purchase the shoe and a lifetime membership to the “Saysh Collective,” a digital subscription product that will offer perks like workout videos, opportunities to network with other Saysh members and have conversations with Felix and other newsmakers.

And the 35-year-old mother is headed to the Olympics for the fifth time! Allyson Felix finished second in the 400m at the US Olympic track and field trials last Friday, clinching her spot in Tokyo for 2022.

Since Allyson Felix left Nike, the company has altered its policies. And Felix emerged as an advocate for working mothers in sports. She has since raised awareness about health care inequities facing Black mothers, who are three to four times more likely to die during delivery than white mothers.

Felix will also be making history as the first athlete in her sport to compete wearing her very own brand!!

Allyson Felix is building an empire of her own — and making Nike executives eat their words!!

Congratulations, Queen!!

#blackexcellence #blackempowerment #supportblackwomen #blackentrepreneurs #blackwomenhandlebusiness

Elizabeth Leiba is a Black History expert and LinkedIn’s top voice and coach.