Days after Chelsea Gray exposed a racist message from an apparent sports bettor, WNBA veteran Natasha Cloud said the abuse is far from an isolated incident.
Speaking to Front Office Sports on Wednesday, the Chicago Sky guard said it’s become “normal” for players to receive hateful messages from angry sports bettors after every game.
“I’m called a bitch, I’m called a n*****, I’m called everything under the sun. I’ve been told that they hope that our plane crashes on the way home,” Cloud, a 12-year WNBA veteran, said ahead of the Sky’s game against the Seattle Storm.
Cloud praised Gray, a six-time All-Star and Finals MVP, for going public, saying it may help urge commissioner Cathy Engelbert to prioritize player safety.
“I think as one of the main faces of our league too, it creates a dialogue that needs to be had. It puts pressure on Cathy, who we’ve been begging to step up for us in these spaces,” Cloud said.
