Emma Bates alleged that her commercial sponsor UCan dropped her after she informed them she is pregnant. UCan disputed Emma Bates's version of events, offering a different timeline of the breakdown of their partnership. UCan claimed the decision to end its partnership with Emma Bates was made in September 2025 as part of regular business planning and prior to any knowledge of her pregnancy, and said it had offered a new restructured proposal to her, but she allegedly rejected it.
Matt Sonnenfeldt, Emma Bates's representative, rejected UCan's version of events, claiming it was not accurate. Matt Sonnenfeldt said they were in discussions after September, UCan made an offer in December, and then changed it. Emma Bates announced she and her partner Steve Finley were expecting on March 5, around three months after she competed in the Valencia Marathon, which she completed in 2:25:51 while in the early stages of her pregnancy.
Since my fueling company dropped me after telling them I was pregnant, I have been trying a bunch of new gels.
She has had an endorsement deal with UCan for three years and is one of the United States' best long-distance runners in recent years, having finished second in the 2021 Chicago Marathon, come eighth in the Boston Marathon last year, and posted a 2:23:18 marathon that ranks No. 14 in US history. Emma Bates also has a partnership with Asics.
This dispute echoes previous controversies involving sponsors and pregnant athletes. Asics previously came under fire for its treatment of its female athletes during their pregnancies, and Nike faced backlash in 2019 over its treatment of pregnant athletes. Track runner Alysia Montaño ran in the 2014 US Track and Field Championships while eight months pregnant and competed while five months pregnant in 2017, later calling out Nike after the sportswear giant said it wouldn't continue paying her if she took time out to have a baby, leading to her split from Nike over the issue.
We're proud of the three-year partnership we had with Emma and the many accomplishments we shared together. The partnership decisions were made in September 2025 as a part of regular business planning and prior to any knowledge of her pregnancy. We made an effort to continue working with Emma under a new agreement, but Emma ultimately chose not to move forward with that option. We've always supported and will continue to support athletes at all stages of life, including pregnancy and motherhood. Emma is an incredible athlete and we sincerely wish her the very best.
Asics were more supportive of Alysia Montaño but still cut her pay.
We were in discussions after September. They made an offer in December and then changed it.