“As a mom and an athlete, I know firsthand the obstacles that women face," said Felix. I wanted to work with Athleta and the Women’s Sports Foundation to take an important step in supporting female athletes as whole people—both on and off the field—by offering financial child care support to mom-athletes headed to Tokyo.”
The WSF stated that it believes that athletes should not have to choose between raising a family and continuing to compete in their sport. The grant will help mothers who are athletes face what the WSF called one of the main obstacles facing these mothers - the expense of child care.
Each grant is $10,000, and a total of $200,000 of grants will be given.
This is not the first time that Felix, a nine-time Olympic medalist, has been an activist for athlete mothers. In 2019, during talks to renew her contract with sponsor Nike, Felix spoke out in a New York Times op-ed about challenges she faced as a mother, including Nike wanting to pay her 70% less and initial refusal to guarantee that she would not be punished for her performance in the months surrounding her childbirth.
"Athletes are told to shut up and play," said Felix in the 2019 op-ed. "We are told that no one cares about our politics. We are told that we’re just entertainers, so run fast, jump high, and throw far. And don’t mess up.
"But pregnancy is not messing up; for women it can and should be able to be part of a thriving professional athletic career, as my teammates have shown and I hope to show too. And I dream of a day when we don’t have to fight in order to try.
"Protection during maternity isn’t just limited to Olympians; working women all over the US deserve protection when they have children. We shouldn’t have to rely on companies to do the right thing. Our families depend on it."
Nike eventually announced a new maternity policy for all of its athletes after public outcry and a congressional inquiry, according to the Times.