Breastfeeding mother is told to leave Sports Direct

[CamelDave]

Saw this in the Nottingham Post today, can't believe the store would go to these lengths....

www.nottinghampost.com/Breastfeeding-mother-told-leave-sports-shop/story-21004058-detail/story.html

Disgusting.

Its about time that England had decent Breastfeeding laws like Scotland.

Outrageous, disgraceful behaviour from the store.

Gads what an awful store though, I can never find a bloody member of staff, maybe I should get my baps out!

I think England does have the same laws as Scotland? Shocking behaviour from the store. Will def. add them to the boycott list.

Some of the comments underneath that article are so depressing. Poor woman.

There are laws in England! Sports Direct obviously aren't aware of them though.

I have never once seen a staff member in sports direct. I thought it was a front for an international crime organisation.

It's the "Company policy" bit and the lack of acknowledgement I find shocking.

I've not liked Sport's Direct for all the cheap labour/zero hours contracts etc, but now I'll definitely not shop there.

England (and Wales) DOES have decent breastfeeding laws - we have done since the 70s! In fact the article itself specifically mentions the strengthening of those (pre-existing) rights in the 2010 Equalities Act which made it easier to enforce if the child is under 6 months.

People just seem to be ignorant of them!

Agree the store behaved badly but honestly why would you want to bf in there? Our local store is so packed with stock you can barely move, it's dusty and dirty and dingy. The 'bench' she was sitting on must have been in the (too small) shoe trying on area and I expect the shop was full of fraught parents buying back to school trainers etc.

I think I would have been pleased to have an excuse to escape the madness of the place and gone to a nearby cafe instead.

But why should she go and pay in a cafe when she was in there with her dad? She was there, the baby needed feeding so she fed him.

Why sit on a chair when you could sit on a spike instead? Personally I'd rather be comfortable and in a calm and clean environment.

If your baby is screaming for a feed you don't often have time or inclination to find somewhere else. She should be able to feed wherever the hell she likes full stop.

They're obviously in the wrong but I personally wouldn't even want to sit in sports direct, let alone sit and feed.

How awful for the poor mum. Our nearest sports direct doesn't have a cafe nearby. If I'd been in this situation, I would have had to pack screaming baby into car and drive 5 minutes to the cafe. It's not really walkable due to a lack of pavement. Imagine the discomfort, not only from not being able to feed a hungry baby but also from the let-down response. Stores really need to educate their staff better.

This is as usual the result of one idiot. I was getting trainers for Ds in Sports Direct, when the assistant realised I was feeding dd in her sling to keep her quiet she fetched me a chair. They've also been really helpful when I had the pushchair and the lift was broken. Ds refused to use the service lift, so they brought down what I wanted, then the security guard watched over dd in the pushchair while I legged it upstairs and paid

I feel so sorry for her! The article says that she ended up trying to feed her baby outside in the rain...

(It was a scary looking lift btw)

What a stupid 'policy'.

I notice one twat in the comments under the article is comparing it to urinating in a shop. What a moron.

I don't shop in Sports Direct anyway, as my lodger works there and her conditions of employment (zero hours contract etc.) are really poor, so I'm already boycotting the place. Will share on Facebook though!

Does it really matter whether you would want to or not? Seems she didn't really really want to but was there shopping and baby needed feeding. It's as simple as that really.

A response would be a good start along with an apology.

That place is near me, might take the 14 month old in at the weekend for a feed. Arseholes

I hate Sports Direct but am highly tempted to go to my local one and BF just to make a fucking point! Outrageous! Isn't it illegal as well? Equality Act?

It's against the law (civil law I believe) yes. In England Mothers can breastfeed a child of any age wherever they have a legal right to be as long as there are no H&S issues.

In Scotland it is criminal law, so people can be prosecuted. However in Scotland mothers are only protected feeding a child milk up to the age of two. Breast or bottle.

I've seen people wondering into Sports Direct with their Shakeaway/McDonalds/Wimpy drinks - I hope they are also thrown out for drinking in the store, presumably the company policy is against drinking/eating in store??!!
;)

CEO e-mail has this email address for the CEO of Sports Direct.

[email protected]

I have emailed him to say that I am shocked to learn of this, and would like to know whether it is true, and what he is going to do about it.