Natasha Cloud made it clear Wednesday that she's tired of being on the receiving end of threats and harassment from anonymous people online, and especially from people who are angry because sports bets they placed ended up ruined due to a game outcome. While speaking to Front Office Sports this week, Cloud revealed that she's also been subjected to abuse from strangers online in response to her game performance, but not because they're fans—because they've lost money after betting on who would win, or how certain players would perform in a 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 told FOS. She also said that it's become "normal" for players to receive such messages before and after games.
Cloud was speaking in support of Chelsea Gray, who recently publicized a message she received on Instagram. The person in question ended up losing their job for sending Gray a racist direct message. Gray shared a screenshot of the message, which included the person's username and photo, in her own Instagram Story—an appropriate response to something so vile.
Cloud added that she hopes seeing what Gray experienced will put pressure on WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert to take steps to keep things like this from happening. While it's difficult to police the entire internet, and there is no shortage of ways people can make anonymous accounts to send whatever messages they want, there's hope that the WNBA will devise a plan.
Cloud admitted she's not sure what Engelbert can do, but she hopes that there is action. "Now I think it demands her to actually take some initiative and to do something about it. I don't know what it is that she's going to do, but I also think that simple statements of not condoning shit is also really good for public relations as well," she said.
She also said that sports betting is a big part of the problem, and that's not just limited to the WNBA. There are NBA players who are "being followed out in public because of not hitting parlays." Cloud noted that she knows it's good for the WNBA for people to be watching games, but if people are watching with this kind of intent, that might not be the kind of audience that the WNBA really wants.
More often than not, it seems sports betting creates far more problems than it solves. There are plenty of stories of college students losing their scholarships, funding, and even a shot at an education because they were caught placing bets. There are also a lot of stories like Cloud's, that show just how far some people will go when they feel a player has somehow wronged them. It's likely too late to completely pull sports betting all the way back, but stronger regulations against betting on WNBA games could possibly help keep players safe—and give them a little peace of mind.
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