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The WNBA has experienced unprecedented growth and attention over the past few seasons.
New York Liberty guard Natasha Cloud reflected on how players have wielded the league’s growing influence, particularly during the 2020 season. That year marked the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, while incidents of police brutality sparked social justice and equality protests across the U.S., bringing the height of the Black Lives Matter movement to the forefront.
That summer, in the bio-secure bubble in Florida, players across the WNBA used their platforms to display activism. Cloud was among those who spoke out.
She credited WNBA players with being leading voices and helping preserve democracy in America at a pivotal moment.
“I just wish that during this time we would have a little bit more voices from our league because there was a point where we saved democracy in 2020, and no one wants to give us that. But you were one of the heads of leading that and doing it in a very loud and harsh way, but a very subtle and graceful way,” Cloud said during a recent appearance on “A Touch More with Sue Bird & Megan Rapinoe.
“Which really just galvanized and impacted the sports world to do the same, and it put pressure on people.”
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While Cloud views 2020 as a hallmark year, she also expressed concerns about the decline she’s seen in advocacy in today’s WNBA.
“Every part of activism is important,” Cloud said. “I just don’t want to lose that as the W because we always have been on the forefront, and I would say, like, the last two or three years I’ve seen us kind of fall back for the protection of obviously our families and how we provide for our families.”
Cloud averaged 10.1 points and 5.1 assists per game in her first season with the Liberty. She joined the Phoenix Mercury in 2024 and spent the first eight seasons of her WNBA career with the Washington Mystics.
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