PublishedFebruary 25, 2025 12:38 PM EST|UpdatedFebruary 25, 2025 12:38 PM EST

Natasha Cloud is not a star in the WNBA or remotely close to being among the most popular players in the league, but that hasn't stopped her from speaking like one.

Cloud, who isn't even the best player on her own Phoenix Mercury team, has made headlines over the past couple of seasons, but not with her play on the court, but with her thoughts and concerns.

In 2020, Cloud opted out of the WNBA season to become a social justice warrior. In July 2023, she called America "trash" after the Supreme Court ruled affirmative action practices by major universities were unconstitutional. She also shared the opinion that not understanding the "non-white experience" is the biggest problem in the United States. Cloud made it a point to bad-mouth every male fan of the WNBA in May of last year as well.

The 33-year-old has essentially gotten away with posting her race-obsessed opinions because, again, she's not a very well known player. That, and the WNBA simply doesn't have a big enough audience to notice these types of things. 

Cloud has tried to become this spokesperson for the WNBA and female athletes while averaging 8.6 points for her career. She averaged 11.5 points and 6.9 assists per game last season for Phoenix.

Money has suddenly become the only talking point regarding the WNBA after Caitlin Clark sold out arenas across the league during her rookie campaign. Cloud has had nothing to do with the WNBA's growing fandom and viewership numbers over the last year, but you better believe she wants a pay raise.

After playing in an Unrivaled league game with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert in attendance, she issued her demand. Instead of saying ‘money,' Cloud referred to it as "munyun" because she is an unserious person.

"We want our munyun (money) and we want it now, that is first and foremost. In my 10 year career in the W, we’ve grown so much, but still have room to grow," Cloud said. "Just prioritize the players."

Just like every worker in any profession, Cloud and her fellow WNBA players want to be paid more, but in order to be paid more your employer has to have said money to pay you.

While the league is on a better trajectory than ever before, the WNBA has never made a profit in its 27-year history, and it didn't come close to doing so in 2024, either, reportedly losing around $40 million.

The WNBA recently signed an 11-year media rights deal with NBC, Disney, and Amazon Prime for around $200 million beginning in 2026, which is about a 3x bump compared to the 2024 media deal. This will likely result in player salaries going up, but it's fair to say it won't meet the expectations Cloud and many other players in the league have.