WNBA's Natasha Cloud Says 'Our Country Is Trash' In Wake Of Supreme Court's Affirmative Action Ruling
Don't expect to see Natasha Cloud lighting off fireworks this weekend.
The Washington Mystics guard went on a Twitter tirade Friday about her disdain for the United States.
"Our country is trash in so many ways and instead of using our resources to make it better we continue to oppress Marginalized groups that we have targeted since the beginning of times," Cloud tweeted.
"Black/brown communities& LGBTQ+ man we are too powerful to still be attacking issues separate."
While Cloud didn't explain what she meant by "oppression," her tweet comes just one day after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled affirmative action practices by major universities are unconstitutional.
Now, qualified candidates are potentially offered admission based on their accomplishments and merit — not their skin color.
"I feel like I'm gonna see a civil war in my lifetime," Cloud tweeted.
The funny thing about all the people who hate America is that they don't hate it enough to leave. But if Cloud were going to move to another country, she has it all figured out.
"I'm feeling somewhere with human rights, healthcare, and no mass shootings," she tweeted.
Natasha Cloud is a seasoned social justice warrior.
Friday's Twitter rant was not unusual for the 31-year-old.
Cloud claims — as a black woman in America — she's been waiting for equality, opportunity and safety her whole life.
Never mind the fact that she went to a private high school, got a college education and now gets paid to play a game.
In 2020, Cloud opted out of the WNBA season so that she could focus on her social justice work. She took part in protests in Philadelphia after the death of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.
"I feel like you don't need to have known either of them to feel that trauma or to fear for your life because, now I'm not even safe in my home?" Cloud told The Philadelphia Inquirer. "I'm not safe when I go out. I'm not safe in a car. Where am I safe?"
But now she says the country has "gone backwards" in the last three years.
"You talk about the mass shootings that continually happen and we do not do a thing. Black and brown people continuously being killed by police, the people who are supposed to protect us," Cloud said. "We still don't have equity. Systemic racism still thrives. We are mass-incarcerated. We have taken so many steps back."
Speaking out for 'Equality'
Cloud comes from a family of five children, but she's the only one of mixed race.
She said she "found her blackness" in college and fought with her siblings after she found out they voted for Donald Trump.
"There were so many times that there was screaming, crying, arguing," she said. "I've left family dinners. I've been like, 'I'm not coming home no more!' We haven't talked , and those are real things. Being open about that, I want to normalize that."
But it's not just politics. Cloud also has a problem with the disparities between men's and women's sports.
In the interview with the Inquirer, she referenced a USC and Purdue University study published in 2021 that showed women's sports received only about 5 percent of total television coverage, including highlights on ESPN's SportsCenter.
"Stop giving us half-assed investments," Cloud said last week. "We appreciate y'all for putting us on TV, but I'm tired of being appreciative. I’m tired of the crumbs. I want the whole pie of what we deserve."
Just add it to your list of grievances, Natasha.