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“I want people to see that you can look like me and still do whatever you want in life,” so spoke Natasha Cloud, reflecting on her celebrated career on and off the court.

Though many point to the media blackout she organized in 2019 as the start of her social justice awakening, Cloud has always been attuned to issues of racial inequality. Coming into her own as a queer biracial woman from a prodominantely White family in Pennsylvania, Cloud was raised to speak her mind.

“My parents did a great job in raising us. It doesn’t matter if it’s a CEO, a janitor, whatever it may be, you treat everyone with the same respect until they don’t treat you with that respect,” Cloud told USA Today.

Never one to hold back, Cloud penned an in the Player’s Tribune, calling her fellow athletes to take action following the murders of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd. While other players put their athletic careers first, Cloud feels a responsibility to use her platform to be a voice for the voiceless. And, she’s in good company – the WNBA remains the most socially progressive among professional sports leagues.

Cloud made the difficult decision to sit out the 2020 WNBA season to work directly with frontline organizers in the movement for Black lives. Chris Paul’s Social Change Fund, the Malcolm Jenkins player’s coalition, and More Than a Vote – a national effort to empower Black voters – are among a few of the initiatives Cloud partnered with.

“There are grassroots organizations that have been busting their butts for years now, trying to fight for social reform and for equity across the board. For me it was important to learn from them,” Cloud explains.

Make no mistake, Cloud is a skilled point guard in her own right. Her and the Washington Mystics won the 2019 WNBA championships, and she serves on the executive council of Athletes Unlimited, a new athlete-led league. But to Cloud, a record-breaking career is nothing without giving back to the communities that nurtured you.

“I fell in love with being an underdog, and having to work to get respect on my name. Every year I try to be better.”