Lindy Korn, BridgeTower Media Newswires
In June, Serena Williams played in her first major tournament since giving birth to her daughter. She had to enter the French Open unseeded, as her protected No. 1 ranking from the Women’s Tennis Association did not apply to the Tournaments seeding.
The public outcry deemed that Serena was being punished for having a baby! The outrage cycle was effective, and Wimbledon seeded Williams No. 25 for the Championships — not high enough for the liking of many — but the U.S. Open announced that it would change its seeding protocol to account for pregnancies in the future.
When it comes to maternity rights for professional athletes, seeding for top players is only a minor concern. Major concerns for pregnant athletes both during and after their pregnancies include insurance, protected contracts and child care.
Women who compete in sports often take a year or more out of competition and training. In most cases, those pro athletes have little to no guaranteed income during that time.
In team sports, such as basketball, they are sometimes eligible to earn 50% of their contract when they’re off for maternity leave. This is only true for those under a contract. Free agents, or those who are on an expiring contract when they get pregnant, are in a much more precarious position.
Women soccer players on the U.S. Women’s National Team are eligible for maternity leave; however, rank and file players, who earn much less that their national team counterparts, don’t have any such maternity protections.
In individual sports it is even worse, as the fulfillment of sponsor contracts hinge upon results or at least appearances in tournaments — and if you are not competing, you’re obviously not getting any rise money.
In July, Stacey Lewis, a two-time major champion on the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour, made a landmark announcement: One of her main sponsors, KPMG, is going to pay Lewis the full value of her contract while she is off the LPGA Tour on maternity leave. This is the first time this has happened in the LGPA Tour history.
Getting pregnancy leave written into contracts in both team and individual sports would be a boost for pregnant athletes, as would arranging insurance options that are affordable and effective — no matter when a player finds out she is pregnant. These athletes also need protection when they return to pro competition with child care. The women’s tennis tour offered far less child care than the men’s tour because historically men have traveled with families, while women have not!
The inequities that exist for pro athletes mirror problems that working women face who are not athletes, but who are using their skills to compete in their fields and often find they are seen as less valuable once they get pregnant and have children.
As we rethink family leave and pay equity issues, we might want to learn from our Canadian neighbors, who offer a one year “maternity leave” to workers and their jobs are held for them during that time. It allows others an opportunity to work in their place and gain experience while families adjust to caring for their newborn.
After all, how we take care of families predicts the type of leaders/athletes we are creating for our future.
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Lindy Korn practices at The Law Office of Lindy Korn and can be reached at lkorn@lkorn-law.com, (716) 856-KORN (5676) or www.lindykorn.com.
