Nike-Linked CoachingHER Expands in 2026 as Critics Challenge Its Under-18 'Girls' Definition
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 15
Nike-Linked CoachingHER Expands in 2026 as Critics Challenge Its Under-18 'Girls' Definition
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 15
Summary
CoachingHER is widening beyond youth coaching into college coursework and a USA Weightlifting partnership, even as former coach Sarah Barker says the program misrepresents whom it serves.
The dispute centers on CoachingHER’s FAQ, which defines girls as anyone under 18 assigned female at birth or identifying as a girl, and on modules urging coaches to accept “all bodies and identities.”
Barker argues that focus clashes with the evidence the program cites: she says body image, not coaches’ gender bias, is identified as the leading reason girls leave sports, and that coach bias was not a top dropout factor.
Nike helped launch CoachingHER with the University of Minnesota’s Tucker Center in 2023 and still appears publicly tied to it in 2026, but its current funding and curriculum role remain unclear after Nike and the Tucker Center did not respond before publication.