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Other female track stars told The Times that sponsor Nike did not guarantee them a salary during their pregnancies and immediately after having a child.

“Getting pregnant is the kiss of death for a female athlete,” Phoebe Wright, a runner sponsored by Nike from 2010 through 2016, said. “There’s no way I’d tell Nike if I were pregnant.”

Olympian Kara Goucher told the outlet she had to make a choice between training for a half-marathon so she could get paid by Nike to race again or stay with her newborn son in the hospital.

“I felt like I had to leave him in the hospital, just to get out there and run, instead of being with him like a normal mom would,” Goucher said. “I’ll never forgive myself for that.

Careers are getting longer and longer. It’s time all sponsors support women athletes throughout ALL aspects of their career. Pregnancy is a part of life for many female athletes, stop punishing them for it and start addressing it with a clear policy. https://t.co/sLAK8HOyrQ

— Kara Goucher (@karagoucher) May 12, 2019

The women's claims are similar to what non-athlete women often face in the workplace when it comes to maternity leave in the U.S.

The United States is the only country among 41 industrialized nations that does not mandate paid maternity leave, according to 2016 data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) found that, in December 2017, just 15 percent of all private workers had access to paid family leave.

Nike expanded its leave policy in 2016, making mothers eligible for a minimum of 14 paid weeks of leave and all new parents eligible to receive eight weeks of paid leave.

The company said Friday it recognizes \"we can do more\" and hopes the moment is an opportunity for the \"sports industry to evolve.\"

\"Our mission has always been to support athletes as they strive to be their best. We want to make it clear today that we support women as they decide how to be both great mothers and great athletes,\" Nike's statement said. \"We recognize we can do more and that there is an important opportunity for the sports industry to evolve to support female athletes.\"

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