Knix Underwear and Olympian Megan Rapinoe Pay Athletes to Publicly Talk about Their Periods

Knix is announcing the launch of the second phase of the Sport Your Period campaign. First launched in December 2023, the new Sport Your Period campaign features former Olympian and advocate Megan Rapinoe and aims to remove the taboo around periods in sports and inspire menstruators to continue enjoying the sport they love, regardless of the time of month. 

Knix partnered with CAN Fund to survey hundreds of athletes to uncover rare insights on the reality of periods at the highest level in sport. Although 99% of the surveyed athletes have competed during their period in international competitions, over 64% feel uncomfortable discussing their periods with coaches and and 75% fear leaking during competition.

To show that periods in sports are normal, Knix is launching a new kind of sponsorship program: world-class athletes are invited to publicly talk about their period at sporting events during which they're competing on their period, and Knix will pay them every time they do. In the spot, we see Megan Rapinoe going through what appears to be a series of pre-, post- and mid-game interviews. As Megan narrates, she acknowledges the countless interviews she’s had to discuss her wins, losses, big competitions, and game-changing goals - and never once has she mentioned that she was competing while on her period. 

Acknowledging the stigma and shame around the taboo topic of menstruation, Megan notes that one in two teens skips sports to hide their period.

“There is no better way to normalise periods in sports than talking out loud about it. This is a powerful commitment from Knix to literally put the money where the mouth is – in this case, where the athletes’ mouths are – by paying them to talk about their period only, not asking any mention of the brand in return ”, explains Andrée-Anne Hallé, senior copywriter at Rethink.

The summer season will be filled with plenty of competitive events, on the global and national level. Knix is encouraging athletes competing at the national or global level between July 18th and November 1st, 2024, to share their experiences with their periods while competing. Speaking publicly about the matter can be done through press conferences, accredited media interviews, and/or on personal social media platforms. Eligible athletes can earn up to $2,000 for speaking about their periods and the sport they play. 

“The facts are simple, women often get paid less to participate in sports, and compete while managing their periods. So why not pay them to talk about it?” says Joanna Griffiths founder and president of Knix. “It’s staggering to see the impact that periods have in sports and yet unless we see a visceral image of a marathon runner bleeding through her shorts, or an entire industry rebelling against wearing white it’s not something that is spoken about. This campaign will make a difference in the way people talk about periods in sports and Megan Rapinoe is the perfect person to kick it off.”