WNBA star Natasha Cloud emphasizes that advocating for social justice is equally vital as her achievements on the basketball court. With a distinguished nine-year career, including a WNBA championship and being the Washington Mystics’ career-assists leader, Cloud has consistently utilized her influence for social justice, even sitting out the 2020 season to partake in community reform endeavors and participating in protests following George Floyd’s murder.
Cloud, now with the Connecticut Sun, insists that winning alone is insufficient, stating that if that’s all her career amounts to, she has failed. She highlights the necessity of using her platform to instigate change in the communities that matter deeply to her. In a time when President Trump’s administration moved to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, Cloud underscores the importance of athletes addressing racial injustice.
With the systemic power structures functioning as originally intended, Cloud believes athletes have a duty to challenge systems favoring white men. Historically, sports have been a venue for civil rights activism, and today’s athletes possess increased influence thanks to their financial and celebrity status and the widespread reach of social media. However, there exists a risk of backlash, possibly affecting their careers, reputations, and connections.
Such risks are not new; history showcases figures like Muhammad Ali and Colin Kaepernick, whose standpoints on social issues impacted their careers and created societal waves. Former NBA player and sports management lecturer Len Elmore highlights that the pursuit of social justice by athletes often involves sacrifice, as current society may penalize them for their stands against systemic inequality.
Former President Trump’s efforts to abolish DEI programs extended to attempts at excluding transgender athletes from female sports and redirecting federal funding from schools and universities supporting diversity initiatives. Additionally, corporations have reconsidered or paused diversity efforts, initially adopted during the 2020 racial reckoning. Joseph N. Cooper of UMass Boston emphasizes the struggle for human dignity and asserts that while Black athletes shouldn’t bear the full weight of social justice, they should leverage their visibility to support crucial causes.
Cloud, who has been actively using her social media for voter registration and highlighting the need for arenas to serve as voting sites, urges basketball leagues to align with their players’ communities. The NBA and WNBA, with predominantly African American players, should comprehend the seeming threats to Black Americans’ sociopolitical advancement.
The leagues have previously demonstrated their commitment through initiatives like displaying “Black Lives Matter” on courts and establishing the NBA Foundation to promote Black economic growth. Individual basketball stars like LeBron James and Stephen Curry have also taken political stands, refusing White House invitations during Trump’s presidency and supporting campaigns that combat voter suppression.
Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics similarly uses his substantial social media presence to address social justice and support small businesses. He has participated in protests and created a foundation to foster opportunities in underserved communities.
Elmore acknowledges it’s not obligatory for athletes to engage in social justice causes simply because they have platforms, yet he appreciates those, like Ali and Kaepernick, who did so because they understood the significance and need for action. Kaepernick’s career symbolizes the immense sacrifices made for social justice, as his actions led to his unemployment from the NFL and societal division, facing opposition and endorsement boycotts.
While addressing the high stakes, Elmore acknowledges that contemporary athletes, benefiting from significant finances and fans’ admiration, risk considerable losses in their activism. He questions whether a desperate tipping point has been reached, where such sacrifices are worth the potential impact in promoting long-term societal change.
