NEW YORK — Speaking with reporters for the first time since her confrontation with provocateur Enes Kanter Freedom, Sky guard Natasha Cloud declined to give him any more attention.
‘‘I’m not going to address an irrelevant person,’’ Cloud said.
Instead, Cloud highlighted issues she thinks have greater consequences for women and children, including domestic violence, sexual assault, food insecurity and access to health care.
In Cloud’s view, the right wing in the United States is using the WNBA as a pawn to distract from those issues ahead of the midterm elections. She also pointed out the hypocrisy in their sudden
interest in ‘‘protecting’’ WNBA players.
‘‘Y’all were the same ones saying that we shouldn’t be paid,’’ Cloud said. ‘‘Y’all were the same ones saying that we’re a joke. . . . If you’re going to protect women, that means all women. That means Black women, trans women and the list goes on and on.’’
Kanter Freedom, a former NBA player who recently claimed to be a woman and declared for the 2027 WNBA Draft, was ejected from a recent Sky game after a verbal altercation with Cloud. The Sky later banned him from attending their games.
Cloud said she feels supported by the Sky, including principal owner Michael Alter, general manager Jeff Pagliocca and coach Tyler Marsh.
‘‘Michael goes and bans [Kanter Freedom],’’ Cloud said. ‘‘That’s immediate action. We’re asking for protection. That’s what protection looks like from a man.
‘‘We can’t not allow him in the arena before the game. But after the game, we can bring solutions to the table that benefit putting our players first. I think that Jeff, Tyler and Michael have done a really good job of that.’’
Cloud is one of the WNBA’s most vocal players about social and political issues. But she pushed back against the notion that she enjoys being at the center of such conversations.
‘‘None of this is performative,’’ Cloud said. ‘‘I don’t want to put myself in front of fires all the time. I don’t want to be the one that always has to speak up, but somebody has to [expletive] do it.’’
Cloud said remaining silent would be a disservice to the communities she cares about, especially because she has a meaningful platform. At the same time, she lamented that recent controversies have overshadowed every other aspect of the league.
‘‘I would love for our league to be celebrated for the amazing year that we’re having,’’ Cloud said. ‘‘Our transformative [labor contract], our viewership going through the roof. You have so many players playing at such an elite level, but we don’t even talk about it because we are a microcosm of a bigger issue in our society.’’