WEBVTT - The New Standard with Alysia Montaño 0:00:00.720 --> 0:00:02.960 Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're hitting 0:00:03.040 --> 0:00:06.480 the town in Austin tonight for the iHeart Podcast Awards, 0:00:06.800 --> 0:00:08.079 and by the end of the night, we're going to 0:00:08.160 --> 0:00:09.960 be best friends with Chelsea Handler. 0:00:10.680 --> 0:00:12.360 Just putting it out in the universe. 0:00:12.960 --> 0:00:15.240 It's Monday, March tenth, and on today's show, we'll be 0:00:15.240 --> 0:00:17.159 skipping the need to know and getting straight to the 0:00:17.160 --> 0:00:20.280 meat of our conversation with Alicia Montano, retired, an eight 0:00:20.400 --> 0:00:24.160 hundred meter Olympic bronze medallist and founder of the nonprofit 0:00:24.280 --> 0:00:26.880 and mother now known as For All Mothers. 0:00:27.240 --> 0:00:28.920 She talked about going viral. 0:00:28.600 --> 0:00:31.560 After competing while eight months pregnant, pushing back on the 0:00:31.560 --> 0:00:33.760 idea that women have to earn their right to enter 0:00:33.840 --> 0:00:36.919 motherhood with their accolades, and her decision to break a 0:00:36.960 --> 0:00:39.600 non disclosure agreement to participate in a video op ed 0:00:39.600 --> 0:00:41.720 in The New York Times called Nike told me to 0:00:41.800 --> 0:00:44.080 dream crazy until I wanted a baby. 0:00:44.240 --> 0:00:46.280 Here's a little snippet from that powerful piece. 0:00:47.080 --> 0:00:50.480 Not having any system in place to protect our female athletes, 0:00:50.760 --> 0:00:53.880 it puts our health at risk. Our sponsors know this 0:00:53.920 --> 0:00:58.840 isn't right, which is why they implement confidentiality clauses that 0:00:58.920 --> 0:01:01.720 forbid us from talk about the scale of the problem, 0:01:02.040 --> 0:01:05.440 which prevents us from being able to change it. So 0:01:05.520 --> 0:01:09.080 companies like Nike tell us to dream crazy. We say, 0:01:09.120 --> 0:01:12.440 how about you stop treating our pregnancies like injuries? Then 0:01:12.480 --> 0:01:15.039 they tell us to believe in something, We say, how 0:01:15.080 --> 0:01:18.160 about maternity leave? How about when you tell my daughter 0:01:18.240 --> 0:01:20.600 she can achieve anything, you back it up? 0:01:21.760 --> 0:01:22.480 Wild stuff. 0:01:23.200 --> 0:01:35.759 That conversation's coming up right after this, joining us now. 0:01:35.800 --> 0:01:38.720 She's an Olympic bronze medalist, two time bronze medalist in 0:01:38.760 --> 0:01:42.760 the World Championships, a bronze medalist in the Indoor World Championships, 0:01:42.800 --> 0:01:45.560 and a six time USA Outdoor Track and Field champion, 0:01:45.800 --> 0:01:48.120 all in the eight hundred meters. She's also the author 0:01:48.160 --> 0:01:50.400 of the book Feel Good Fitness, and the founder and 0:01:50.480 --> 0:01:53.520 CEO of and Mother now known as For All Mothers, 0:01:53.680 --> 0:01:56.280 which is committed to breaking down the societal and institutional 0:01:56.320 --> 0:01:59.080 barriers that too often forced women to choose between career, 0:01:59.280 --> 0:02:02.600 competition caregiving. Their mission is to create a world where 0:02:02.640 --> 0:02:04.720 no woman has to choose between being a mother and 0:02:04.800 --> 0:02:07.160 an athlete. She's a mom of three, the runner with 0:02:07.200 --> 0:02:11.040 the flower in her hair. It's Alicia Montano. What's up, Alicia. 0:02:11.480 --> 0:02:14.079 Hey Sarah, thank you so much for having me. Thank 0:02:14.120 --> 0:02:15.600 you for that, thank you for coming on. 0:02:16.280 --> 0:02:17.920 Yeah, I mean there's so much to get to. 0:02:17.960 --> 0:02:20.520 We've been wanting to have a conversation about moms and 0:02:20.560 --> 0:02:22.600 sports for so long, and you're the perfect person to 0:02:22.639 --> 0:02:25.240 do this. You know, I just listed off your many victories, 0:02:25.280 --> 0:02:28.160 all your top finishes, but perhaps the most well known 0:02:28.280 --> 0:02:30.600 race of your career was not a top finish. It 0:02:30.639 --> 0:02:33.440 came back in twenty fourteen, you competed at the USA 0:02:33.520 --> 0:02:38.120 Outdoor Track and Field Championships, well, eight months pregnant, eight 0:02:38.160 --> 0:02:42.000 months That moment seems to loom even larger now with 0:02:42.080 --> 0:02:44.280 the work that you're doing for moms. Can you take 0:02:44.320 --> 0:02:46.480 me back to that day in twenty fourteen. Why was 0:02:46.520 --> 0:02:47.760 it important for you to race? 0:02:48.960 --> 0:02:49.320 Yeah? 0:02:49.360 --> 0:02:52.440 So in twenty fourteen, you know, I decided I was 0:02:52.480 --> 0:02:55.400 going to race at our US Track and Field Nationals 0:02:55.400 --> 0:02:58.800 at eight months pregnant, after going through a behind the 0:02:58.880 --> 0:03:02.400 scene sort of battle with the sports industry. You know, 0:03:02.480 --> 0:03:06.480 the status quo was if you became pregnant or wanted 0:03:06.520 --> 0:03:08.960 to have a family, you ultimately were choosing between your 0:03:09.000 --> 0:03:11.960 career and you know, the potential of growing your family. 0:03:12.040 --> 0:03:15.640 And these conversations were ones that were being had but 0:03:16.160 --> 0:03:19.000 weren't in the forefront. And I knew that I needed 0:03:19.000 --> 0:03:22.040 to make the invisible visible because ultimately, what it would 0:03:22.040 --> 0:03:26.160 have meant is when an athlete would walk into with 0:03:26.200 --> 0:03:28.680 their sponsors and have a conversation with their sponsors, into 0:03:28.680 --> 0:03:31.200 their new contracts and say, okay, well, what were to 0:03:31.240 --> 0:03:34.960 happen if I were to become pregnant? Sponsors, brands, corporations 0:03:35.240 --> 0:03:38.280 could easily just say we would just pause your contract 0:03:38.320 --> 0:03:42.480 and stop paying you. And for me, I've won. It's 0:03:42.480 --> 0:03:44.880 a shocker to hear that that was actually happening, and 0:03:44.920 --> 0:03:48.880 I wasn't the first person of that happened to. I recognize, 0:03:49.000 --> 0:03:50.800 you know, change only comes when we can see what 0:03:50.880 --> 0:03:55.840 change looks like. And you know, I'm gonna set my 0:03:55.880 --> 0:03:59.960 best foot forward. I went and connected with another company 0:04:00.120 --> 0:04:02.840 to see how they would treat their female athletes. There 0:04:02.840 --> 0:04:07.280 were two women at the head there and they said, 0:04:07.320 --> 0:04:09.200 you know, when I became pregnant, and I told them. 0:04:09.200 --> 0:04:11.160 They were like, I hope you're not worried about your contract. 0:04:11.640 --> 0:04:13.960 I was like, oh, I absolutely am, but yea, thank 0:04:14.000 --> 0:04:17.200 you for saying that, And it did empower me to know, 0:04:17.400 --> 0:04:21.560 like you know, I felt a sense of psychological safety 0:04:21.600 --> 0:04:24.400 with even just those words. But it also empowered me 0:04:24.480 --> 0:04:27.839 to know that this conversation had also happened, and that 0:04:28.440 --> 0:04:31.479 I have this opportunity, with being the defending champion, to 0:04:31.520 --> 0:04:33.200 step on this track and show what it looks like 0:04:33.240 --> 0:04:35.480 to be a woman in my career, starting her family 0:04:35.520 --> 0:04:38.359 and wanting to continue it. And so that's what I 0:04:38.400 --> 0:04:40.280 did that day I stepped on that track. I had 0:04:40.279 --> 0:04:43.960 a lane. It was specifically for me, and I wanted 0:04:43.960 --> 0:04:46.160 that lane to not just be mine. I wanted it 0:04:46.200 --> 0:04:48.560 to be a lane that could exist for all mothers. 0:04:48.920 --> 0:04:51.800 Yeah, you know, those visuals of you running with your 0:04:51.839 --> 0:04:55.200 singlet not quite covering your baby bump continued to be 0:04:55.279 --> 0:04:58.120 this very powerful visual and an inspiration for a lot 0:04:58.120 --> 0:04:59.960 of people. But at the time you were also criticis 0:05:00.680 --> 0:05:02.440 can you talk about the folks who didn't think you 0:05:02.520 --> 0:05:04.599 should be running and you tried to make a judgment 0:05:04.680 --> 0:05:06.479 about running while eight months pregnant. 0:05:07.240 --> 0:05:10.400 Yeah, well, you know, ignorance exists, and that's something that 0:05:10.440 --> 0:05:14.279 you were going to face in every facet of your life. 0:05:14.400 --> 0:05:18.360 You know, these are probably the same people that would 0:05:18.440 --> 0:05:22.240 not assume or believe that I would also become an Olympian, 0:05:22.400 --> 0:05:24.280 I would become a bronze medallist, I would become a 0:05:24.360 --> 0:05:28.279 multiple time you know, global medalist, American record holder, any 0:05:28.279 --> 0:05:31.320 of those things. And that's for those people. For me, 0:05:31.880 --> 0:05:35.520 it was about standing in my truth. And you know, 0:05:36.200 --> 0:05:38.400 I did what I needed to do. I went ten 0:05:38.440 --> 0:05:42.120 toes down on business and I understood every single facet 0:05:42.240 --> 0:05:48.000 of pregnancy. I walked into my pregnancy with a wealth 0:05:48.000 --> 0:05:53.040 of knowledge and continued to learn about pregnancy. You know, 0:05:53.160 --> 0:05:56.680 how my body would change from a physiological standpoint, and 0:05:56.680 --> 0:06:00.200 how my mind would change. And I took that the 0:06:00.200 --> 0:06:04.120 same way that I approached, you know, performing as an 0:06:04.160 --> 0:06:07.839 Olympic athlete as a high performance endeavor. And in order 0:06:07.839 --> 0:06:10.440 for me to do my best in my pregnancy from 0:06:10.560 --> 0:06:14.880 the background that I have, was to continue to treat 0:06:14.960 --> 0:06:17.719 my body like this incredible vessel that's bringing a life 0:06:17.760 --> 0:06:21.880 into this world. And the greatest thing that I learned 0:06:21.920 --> 0:06:26.039 that a mother can do is to continue to exercise 0:06:26.120 --> 0:06:28.080 in her pregnancy. It's not only good for the mom, 0:06:28.080 --> 0:06:29.600 it's good for the baity. And I love all these 0:06:29.640 --> 0:06:32.760 studies that are out now that are like, you know, 0:06:33.200 --> 0:06:35.839 exactly what I was saying. It was saying, like, you know, 0:06:35.920 --> 0:06:38.400 I continue to be who I am. I can continue 0:06:38.440 --> 0:06:40.640 to be who I am. I just also happened to 0:06:40.680 --> 0:06:44.920 be pregnant. Now there's some caveats to, you know, things 0:06:44.920 --> 0:06:49.359 that you should avoid to help mitigate your risk of injury. 0:06:49.920 --> 0:06:52.120 You know, I'm not going to do a box. 0:06:51.960 --> 0:06:54.200 Jump and then jump back up down from a box 0:06:54.279 --> 0:06:57.120 jump more because I'm going to hurt myself. 0:06:57.400 --> 0:06:58.920 Right right, right, right, yeah. 0:06:58.920 --> 0:07:01.040 I mean you knew that it was and healthy, and 0:07:01.680 --> 0:07:04.000 to your point, the idea of like this isn't stopping 0:07:04.040 --> 0:07:06.039 my career. I will run through it and after it 0:07:06.080 --> 0:07:08.440 And a year later you returned to win the US 0:07:08.520 --> 0:07:11.560 Trials and qualify for the World Championships. And then three 0:07:11.640 --> 0:07:14.840 years later you competed pregnant again. Twenty seventeen US Championships. 0:07:14.840 --> 0:07:17.840 You were five months pregnant. And I'm wondering, when you 0:07:17.880 --> 0:07:21.600 look back on those US Championships now running while pregnant, how. 0:07:21.440 --> 0:07:22.280 Do you view them. 0:07:22.720 --> 0:07:25.600 Do you view them as a personal statement about what 0:07:25.760 --> 0:07:28.240 a mother and a woman can do while pregnant or 0:07:28.800 --> 0:07:31.840 were they also sort of a requirement because you were 0:07:31.840 --> 0:07:35.360 worried about contracts and you were required to raise a 0:07:35.360 --> 0:07:37.480 certain number of times each year, so you felt like 0:07:37.560 --> 0:07:39.400 almost forced to go out there, whether it was by 0:07:39.480 --> 0:07:40.000 choice or not. 0:07:41.880 --> 0:07:44.480 I feel the first I felt that, you know, the 0:07:44.560 --> 0:07:50.000 conversation had been started, you know, in the background, we 0:07:50.080 --> 0:07:51.840 needed to bring it to the forefront. When I ran 0:07:51.920 --> 0:07:55.240 pregnant the first time, the conversation still wasn't at one 0:07:55.320 --> 0:07:59.000 hundred percent of support female athletes when they become mothers, 0:08:00.040 --> 0:08:02.520 and so I recognized, like, I need to step out 0:08:02.560 --> 0:08:04.560 there again. I've showed what it looked like and there 0:08:04.640 --> 0:08:07.440 is more to this conversation that needed to be had. 0:08:07.560 --> 0:08:10.680 So when I after I had my daughter, you know, 0:08:10.760 --> 0:08:13.760 the back in conversation with the two women that were 0:08:13.760 --> 0:08:18.480 in leadership was awesome. They left and then two men 0:08:18.720 --> 0:08:21.640 came and took their place and talked about, you know, 0:08:22.160 --> 0:08:24.280 we want to talk about your contract and your performance 0:08:24.320 --> 0:08:27.040 for over this last year. And I'm like, you mean 0:08:27.080 --> 0:08:28.880 the one where I was pregnant for nine months of it. 0:08:29.360 --> 0:08:32.839 And there is this the clauses within your contracts that 0:08:33.480 --> 0:08:36.040 have you not hit performance metrics, and what I what 0:08:36.160 --> 0:08:40.040 doesn't exist is any words around pregnancy, maternity, postpartum, none 0:08:40.080 --> 0:08:43.800 of that that protects your contract. So ultimately their upper 0:08:43.840 --> 0:08:46.440 hand was what it said in that contract, Well, you 0:08:46.520 --> 0:08:49.720 didn't perform up to the standard that is expected in 0:08:49.760 --> 0:08:52.200 this contract. So what it led me, and this is 0:08:52.280 --> 0:08:54.520 my daughter is, you know, about seven weeks old at 0:08:54.520 --> 0:08:54.800 this time. 0:08:54.840 --> 0:08:57.040 There's no congratulations, nothing like that, like. 0:08:57.000 --> 0:09:01.520 We're the new head, you know, of our athletic management program, 0:09:01.800 --> 0:09:03.600 and this is just what your contract says, and here's 0:09:03.640 --> 0:09:04.240 what we're going to do. 0:09:04.400 --> 0:09:07.600 So I you know that next year I did. 0:09:07.720 --> 0:09:10.360 I went on a tear and I won nationals at 0:09:10.360 --> 0:09:11.599 six and ten months postpartum. 0:09:11.800 --> 0:09:12.640 I won a. 0:09:12.600 --> 0:09:16.080 World Championship gold medal while still breastfeeding my daughter. I 0:09:16.120 --> 0:09:19.480 figured I saw all of these holes in the system 0:09:19.960 --> 0:09:23.120 because I was running through it. I was living, and 0:09:23.160 --> 0:09:24.800 I knew I had to live it in order to 0:09:24.800 --> 0:09:27.720 make it better for everyone else. And at that time, 0:09:28.640 --> 0:09:33.200 you know, when I made those decisions, I was not 0:09:33.280 --> 0:09:35.920 thinking of it as like running through advocacy. I was 0:09:35.920 --> 0:09:40.280 more thinking of it like protecting myself in my career 0:09:40.960 --> 0:09:45.480 and having a vague sort of I want to call 0:09:45.520 --> 0:09:50.960 it like a back end understanding that my responsibility for 0:09:51.040 --> 0:09:53.760 what I do in my podium moments will change the 0:09:53.840 --> 0:09:57.079 landscape for the sport for future generations. 0:09:57.360 --> 0:09:59.840 It was advocacy for self and others at the same. 0:09:59.720 --> 0:10:01.480 Time, exactly exactly, And. 0:10:03.120 --> 0:10:05.079 You know, so I did all that in that first year, 0:10:05.120 --> 0:10:10.440 and I made the World Championship team, and I really 0:10:11.400 --> 0:10:14.960 had and continue to have a great disdain for the 0:10:15.040 --> 0:10:19.320 fact that so many women in their careers feel like 0:10:19.440 --> 0:10:22.520 they have to earn their happiness and they have to 0:10:22.559 --> 0:10:26.400 earn their motherhood with their accolades. And it was no 0:10:26.480 --> 0:10:29.080 different in sport, you know, where I had my daughter. 0:10:29.080 --> 0:10:31.520 I approved all of the things. And when we were 0:10:31.520 --> 0:10:34.240 walking to the next part of my contract and this 0:10:34.320 --> 0:10:37.680 is now going into twenty sixteen, going to twenty seventeen, 0:10:40.440 --> 0:10:42.599 you know, the question of like, well, what do you 0:10:42.640 --> 0:10:44.320 want to do in the next five years, you know, 0:10:44.840 --> 0:10:47.680 and which is always a hilarious question to me. It's 0:10:47.720 --> 0:10:49.559 just like, you know, I want to keep writing, I 0:10:49.600 --> 0:10:52.839 want to keep doing my thing. But answered the question 0:10:52.880 --> 0:10:54.480 in a way it was like, you know, I want 0:10:54.520 --> 0:10:58.199 to continue to elevate the sport, and I want to 0:10:58.240 --> 0:11:03.120 continue to see where I can elevate myself within the sport, 0:11:03.640 --> 0:11:06.040 and I want to add to my family. Before the 0:11:06.040 --> 0:11:07.920 next Olympics, we were walking to the ox Olympic cycle 0:11:08.559 --> 0:11:11.199 and you could hear a pin drop. It was like, wait, 0:11:11.280 --> 0:11:14.560 didn't we already sit through this with you? 0:11:14.559 --> 0:11:14.800 You know? 0:11:15.040 --> 0:11:19.280 And I'm like, I didn't I already prove that it. 0:11:19.400 --> 0:11:21.360 Proved by coming back and winning. Yeah. 0:11:21.720 --> 0:11:24.840 Yeah. And they're like, well, we're not going to continue 0:11:24.880 --> 0:11:28.080 your contract. We want someone more dedicated to their craft, 0:11:28.360 --> 0:11:33.440 like you know, essentially as like the wildest It was 0:11:33.480 --> 0:11:38.480 just the wildest two minutes of my life to sit 0:11:38.559 --> 0:11:42.840 there and be told that you're not dedicated because you 0:11:42.960 --> 0:11:47.040 also would like to have a family and expand your 0:11:47.080 --> 0:11:50.600 family and so anyway, so that was that first part. 0:11:50.600 --> 0:11:54.240 So going into twenty seventeen, a conversation had there was 0:11:54.320 --> 0:11:55.280 more to act. 0:11:55.400 --> 0:11:57.760 That conversation felt like you needed to run again and 0:11:57.840 --> 0:12:00.800 prove yeah again. You talked to unders World about that 0:12:00.880 --> 0:12:04.360 conversation with the two men from AAIs who replaced the 0:12:04.400 --> 0:12:07.120 woman that you had worked with, and how they told you, 0:12:07.120 --> 0:12:09.160 you know, if you don't make the Olympic team, you'll 0:12:09.200 --> 0:12:12.160 lose your opportunities for sponsorship, you'll lose your opportunities to 0:12:12.200 --> 0:12:14.240 continue your career. This was two months after the baby, 0:12:14.600 --> 0:12:17.120 and that you already planned on coming back. You already 0:12:17.160 --> 0:12:19.000 knew you were going to continue. It wasn't up to them, 0:12:19.040 --> 0:12:21.880 but they felt like they had authority over you because 0:12:22.240 --> 0:12:24.680 you had become a mother and because of the choices 0:12:24.720 --> 0:12:26.040 you had made. 0:12:26.720 --> 0:12:30.480 This was part of this larger issue that you had. 0:12:30.280 --> 0:12:34.960 With sponsorships and family planning, and both AAIs and Nike 0:12:35.120 --> 0:12:38.679 presented issues. So in May of twenty nineteen, you decide 0:12:38.679 --> 0:12:41.520 to break a non disclosure agreement with your former sponsor, 0:12:41.600 --> 0:12:43.960 Nike and publish a video op ed in The New 0:12:44.080 --> 0:12:46.920 York Times called Nike told Me to dream crazy until 0:12:46.960 --> 0:12:49.400 I wanted a baby, and in it you call out 0:12:49.480 --> 0:12:53.079 Nike's lack of maternity coverage policies and also your issues 0:12:53.080 --> 0:12:55.200 with AAIs. Can you take me to that moment, in 0:12:55.240 --> 0:12:59.080 that decision to break an NDA and also to go 0:12:59.160 --> 0:13:01.880 public in a way that you probably expected some pretty 0:13:01.880 --> 0:13:02.880 serious fallout from. 0:13:04.480 --> 0:13:07.280 Yeah, I mean I had nothing to lose at that point. 0:13:07.400 --> 0:13:12.040 You know, I just had my next four year opportunity 0:13:12.160 --> 0:13:14.880 to continue to train at the level I was able 0:13:14.880 --> 0:13:18.240 to train out with you know, the financial support I 0:13:18.280 --> 0:13:22.760 was getting stripped away from me for choosing motherhood, and 0:13:22.800 --> 0:13:27.600 I continue to try my hardest to balance now motherhood. 0:13:27.360 --> 0:13:29.200 With you know, two children. 0:13:29.480 --> 0:13:31.560 I continued to walk in my path of happiness, and 0:13:31.600 --> 0:13:33.880 I had I become pregnant with my second which we 0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:36.560 saw that and running in twenty seventeen, and I had 0:13:36.600 --> 0:13:39.120 my son. But what I recognized at the same time 0:13:39.440 --> 0:13:43.960 was this story that was writing itself was it was 0:13:44.360 --> 0:13:48.119 essentially these best practices and policies that we are now implementing, 0:13:48.120 --> 0:13:51.160 and we're having brands and sponsors and corporations also implement 0:13:51.240 --> 0:13:54.280 our goal standard for contractual language. It was being written 0:13:54.360 --> 0:13:58.319 because I was seeing the fallout of the loss of 0:13:58.600 --> 0:14:02.600 those finances as the top American athlete in the sport, 0:14:02.920 --> 0:14:05.880 the most decorated eight hundred meters runner in the US 0:14:06.120 --> 0:14:11.200 of all time, now does not have an opportunity to 0:14:11.240 --> 0:14:15.839 pursue on the next Olympic team because of choices that 0:14:16.080 --> 0:14:21.000 these men had made. And you know, so when we're 0:14:21.040 --> 0:14:24.560 looking at what that the difference would be if I 0:14:24.600 --> 0:14:26.480 were to be able to break my NDA and talk 0:14:26.520 --> 0:14:29.240 about it out loud, it would mean the difference for 0:14:29.320 --> 0:14:34.520 everybody to hear the entirety of the story and understand, like, Okay, 0:14:34.840 --> 0:14:37.280 Alicie just retired because she had her family, you know, 0:14:37.840 --> 0:14:39.840 and at the end of the day, like I also 0:14:39.960 --> 0:14:44.560 wasn't I also wasn't receiving any funding in order for 0:14:44.600 --> 0:14:47.560 me to continue to pursue or thrive in my career 0:14:47.640 --> 0:14:50.280 or in my motherhood at this point. So it made 0:14:50.320 --> 0:14:52.960 the most sense to me to make sure that these 0:14:52.960 --> 0:14:55.360 siled conversations were no longer siloed. 0:14:56.120 --> 0:14:56.960 I hoped that the. 0:14:56.920 --> 0:14:59.720 Door would crack open a little bit for all of 0:14:59.760 --> 0:15:03.080 the you know, women who were facing the same thing 0:15:03.080 --> 0:15:06.240 because we knew it was happening to also speak out, 0:15:06.240 --> 0:15:10.120 And that happened, you know, ten days later, Alison Felix, 0:15:10.600 --> 0:15:14.520 the most decorated check and field a holistically of all times, 0:15:14.520 --> 0:15:17.360 shared her story and the similar things that had happened 0:15:17.360 --> 0:15:20.240 with her, and Carra Goucher the same thing. And then 0:15:20.560 --> 0:15:24.120 out of the woodworks all of these women sharing their stories, 0:15:24.160 --> 0:15:27.080 some who had retired, some who were walking into pregnancy 0:15:27.080 --> 0:15:31.160 and facing that issue right now across all sports. So 0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:33.560 I know, I know it was the right thing to do, 0:15:33.880 --> 0:15:37.360 And ultimately they have these NDAs in place as gag 0:15:37.480 --> 0:15:39.480 orders so that they can continue. 0:15:39.040 --> 0:15:41.840 To because they know that what they're doing is wrong. 0:15:42.000 --> 0:15:42.480 Exactly. 0:15:42.680 --> 0:15:44.720 It's not a normal thing to have an NDA with 0:15:44.760 --> 0:15:45.640 your sponsors. 0:15:46.200 --> 0:15:49.840 Yeah, so there's gotta be a reason we got to take. 0:15:49.720 --> 0:15:50.320 A quick break. 0:15:50.360 --> 0:15:58.800 When we come back more with Alicia Montagno stick around. 0:16:04.320 --> 0:16:07.240 You inspire all sorts of change by stepping up and 0:16:07.240 --> 0:16:10.120 speaking out, including other athletes, then speaking out in your wake, 0:16:10.560 --> 0:16:13.520 and then you launch and Mother in twenty twenty, now 0:16:13.560 --> 0:16:16.800 known as For All Mothers, presumably as a response to 0:16:16.800 --> 0:16:18.760 your struggles with your sponsors and because of the way 0:16:18.800 --> 0:16:21.440 folks reacted to racing while pregnant and didn't get the 0:16:21.520 --> 0:16:25.320 narratives right around choosing both your sport and motherhood. 0:16:25.440 --> 0:16:26.320 Do you remember the. 0:16:26.320 --> 0:16:29.240 Exact moment that you realized that you wanted to or 0:16:29.320 --> 0:16:32.400 needed to create something to help fix this broken system, 0:16:32.640 --> 0:16:35.680 beyond just speaking out an advocacy, but actually creating a 0:16:35.720 --> 0:16:36.600 company around it. 0:16:37.360 --> 0:16:39.800 Yes, yes, the exact moment. 0:16:39.920 --> 0:16:41.960 I think it was a little bit of a I 0:16:41.960 --> 0:16:45.680 want to say, a medium birm, you know where it 0:16:45.800 --> 0:16:49.920 was like, okay, so we recognize that this is creating 0:16:49.920 --> 0:16:54.360 a movement. I had everybody, my friends who were researchers, 0:16:54.400 --> 0:16:58.840 friends who were journalists, all across the board in academia 0:16:58.960 --> 0:17:03.840 sharing their story and the similar compound, you know, to 0:17:05.160 --> 0:17:08.120 the repercussions that they faced when they walked into their 0:17:08.160 --> 0:17:11.199 motherhood and were also working to continue their careers. And 0:17:11.240 --> 0:17:15.359 what I recognized was this wasn't about sports. This is 0:17:15.400 --> 0:17:18.760 bigger than sports. It's that sports is a microcosm of 0:17:18.760 --> 0:17:21.680 what's happening in the world, and I get to help 0:17:21.760 --> 0:17:24.760 affect change through the lens of sports. We're asking for 0:17:24.800 --> 0:17:28.200 the same thing that women across all industries are asking for. 0:17:28.640 --> 0:17:32.159 We're asking for, you know, lines within our contract that 0:17:32.240 --> 0:17:33.879 have maternity, pregnancy, postpartum. 0:17:34.040 --> 0:17:37.359 We're asking for, you know, the opportunity for pay leave. 0:17:37.520 --> 0:17:41.960 We're asking for we're safe, respectable elactation, accommodations, and we're 0:17:42.000 --> 0:17:44.800 asking for access to childcare, whether it be through stipends 0:17:45.080 --> 0:17:48.560 or by creating within our contracts, you know, an opportunity 0:17:48.560 --> 0:17:50.960 for us to bring along folks to support our careers. 0:17:51.720 --> 0:17:54.880 We have all these other clauses that you know, massage therapists, 0:17:54.920 --> 0:17:57.840 all of these other things that support our career. Here 0:17:57.840 --> 0:18:01.920 are caveats that could also support you know, a woman 0:18:02.040 --> 0:18:04.760 athlete if she were to walk into motherhood and allow 0:18:04.800 --> 0:18:07.239 her an opportunity to continue to expand her career. So 0:18:07.640 --> 0:18:12.560 when I saw all of those you know, satellite moments, 0:18:13.320 --> 0:18:17.320 I realized that the only way for us to affect 0:18:17.600 --> 0:18:20.960 change in a way that will have some real depth 0:18:21.080 --> 0:18:23.919 and impact and continue to you know, put fire to 0:18:24.000 --> 0:18:27.840 the flame is to create an organization where we pilot, 0:18:28.119 --> 0:18:30.200 you know, these movements that we want to see happen, 0:18:30.320 --> 0:18:34.280 and that where we create the best practices and recommendations 0:18:34.720 --> 0:18:38.720 in order to support not only athletes but mothers. Within 0:18:39.160 --> 0:18:41.520 the sports industry, I mean, it still is a very 0:18:41.560 --> 0:18:45.640 much male dominated field in all facets of it, broadcast, coaching, 0:18:46.160 --> 0:18:49.879 you know, all facets of it. That we get this 0:18:49.920 --> 0:18:52.159 opportunity to have this runway and this lane for the 0:18:52.200 --> 0:18:54.960 athletes to ultimately do what they do in the sport. 0:18:55.240 --> 0:18:57.240 You know, they are the performers. 0:18:57.240 --> 0:19:00.000 They are you know, in for better or for words, 0:19:00.200 --> 0:19:04.440 the commoditized vessel that allows for the industry to go. 0:19:05.160 --> 0:19:09.239 So if we create standards that protect them in their 0:19:09.280 --> 0:19:12.920 careers and in their motherhood, we ultimately will be creating 0:19:12.920 --> 0:19:15.560 the blueprint for success in infrastructure in society. 0:19:16.200 --> 0:19:18.320 And it's so necessary in women's sports to take a 0:19:18.359 --> 0:19:21.320 look at everything created with men in mind and ask 0:19:21.400 --> 0:19:24.800 whether that actually serves the same sport for women. And 0:19:24.840 --> 0:19:28.600 it's not just sponsorship deals, it's you know, things like 0:19:28.680 --> 0:19:32.359 track athletes receiving health insurance from the USOPC and USA 0:19:32.480 --> 0:19:34.760 Track and Field, and then losing that insurance if they 0:19:34.800 --> 0:19:36.919 don't finish in the top tier. Even if they're not 0:19:36.960 --> 0:19:39.560 finishing as a result of pregnancy, they're unable to compete 0:19:39.560 --> 0:19:44.840 at that time, whether that's lactation areas or opportunities to 0:19:45.560 --> 0:19:49.040 room by yourself on a team sport because you're pregnant 0:19:49.119 --> 0:19:51.120 or you have a child with you. There's so many 0:19:51.160 --> 0:19:54.520 opportunities to look at some issues that are never really 0:19:54.560 --> 0:19:56.800 covered on the men's side, that need to have intention 0:19:56.960 --> 0:19:59.600 behind them on the women's side. And I wonder, you know, 0:19:59.640 --> 0:20:01.879 before we get to more about what for all mothers does, 0:20:02.200 --> 0:20:04.879 what changes you saw almost instantly in the industry from 0:20:04.960 --> 0:20:07.199 Nike or AAIs or others as a result of you 0:20:07.320 --> 0:20:10.600 and folks like Alison Felix speaking out. Were there instant 0:20:10.640 --> 0:20:12.960 things that occurred that then helped you see the bigger 0:20:13.000 --> 0:20:14.600 picture and say, Okay, these are things we need to 0:20:14.600 --> 0:20:17.639 push ford with for all mothers and also parts of 0:20:17.640 --> 0:20:19.760 the system that we didn't even maybe realize we need 0:20:19.760 --> 0:20:21.280 to address and do white papers for. 0:20:22.280 --> 0:20:24.520 Yeah, yeah, I thought. 0:20:24.560 --> 0:20:28.400 I think instantaneous success was doing the op ED and 0:20:28.440 --> 0:20:32.280 having all of these brands and sponsors come out and 0:20:33.040 --> 0:20:37.199 you know, change the policies almost immediately. You know, we 0:20:37.280 --> 0:20:41.359 had a handful of brands and sponsors within those first 0:20:41.400 --> 0:20:44.159 two weeks announce that they were changing their policies or 0:20:44.160 --> 0:20:46.960 they were including this within their policies. They recognize, oh, 0:20:47.119 --> 0:20:50.359 like this is I get it. You know, these contracts 0:20:50.359 --> 0:20:54.000 are standard, but they're standard for men. And so I 0:20:54.000 --> 0:20:56.800 think that was really awesome and that's something where we're like, Okay, 0:20:57.119 --> 0:21:00.800 now we've got to work through what the next step 0:21:00.840 --> 0:21:03.399 is going to look like so we can continue to 0:21:03.480 --> 0:21:04.800