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The WNBA has skilled unprecedented development and a focus over the previous few seasons.
New York Liberty guard Natasha Cloud mirrored on how gamers have wielded the league’s rising affect, significantly throughout the 2020 season. That yr marked the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas incidents of police brutality sparked social justice and equality protests throughout the U.S., bringing the peak of the Black Lives Matter motion to the forefront.
That summer time, within the bio-secure bubble in Florida, gamers throughout the WNBA used their platforms to show activism. Cloud was amongst those that spoke out.
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New York Liberty guard Natasha Cloud (9) throughout a sport towards the Golden State Valkyries at Barclays Heart on Could 29, 2025 in Brooklyn, New York. (John Jones/Imagn Photographs)
She credited WNBA gamers with being main voices and serving to protect democracy in America at a pivotal second.
“I simply want that in this time we might have just a little bit extra voices from our league as a result of there was a degree the place we saved democracy in 2020 and nobody desires to provide us that however you have been one of many heads of main that and doing it in a really loud and harsh approach, however a really delicate and sleek approach,” Cloud stated throughout a current look on “A Touch More with Sue Chook & Megan Rapinoe.”
New York Liberty guard Natasha Cloud (9) warms up earlier than a sport towards the Seattle Storm at Barclays Heart on July 6, 2025 in Brooklyn, New York. (John Jones/Imagn Photographs)
She added, “Which actually simply galvanized and impacted the sports activities world to do the identical, and it put stress on individuals.”
Whereas Cloud views 2020 as an indicator yr, she additionally expressed considerations concerning the decline she’s seen in advocacy in at the moment’s WNBA.
Natasha Cloud (9) of the New York Liberty dribbles the ball towards the Chicago Sky throughout the first half at Barclays Heart on Aug. 21, 2025 in New York Metropolis, New York. (Evan Bernstein/Getty Photographs)
“Each a part of activism is vital,” Cloud stated. “I simply don’t wish to lose that because the W as a result of we all the time have been on the forefront, and I’d say just like the final two or three years I’ve seen us type of fall again for the safety of clearly our households and the way we offer for our households.”
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Cloud averaged 10.1 factors and 5.1 assists per sport in her first season with the Liberty. She joined the Phoenix Mercury in 2024 and spent the primary eight seasons of her WNBA profession with the Washington Mystics.
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