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Washington Mystics point guard Natasha Cloud announced her shoe deal with Converse Monday.
“Beyond humbled and blessed to be apart of a family that embraces every facet of ME,” said the 28-year-old in an Instagram post that included several photos of herself wearing the brand’s shoes.
After Cloud, a Pennsylvania native, told Converse she was not comfortable with announcing the deal right away, the company postponed it but also made a $25,000 donation to a racial justice organization in Philadelphia, according to the Washington Post.
Converse Hoops highlighted Cloud’s column on The Players’ Tribune about the racial injustices that affect Black America and her involvement in protests following the murder of George Floyd.
“This is one of many reasons we are both proud and humbled to welcome WNBA champion @t__cloud9 to the family,” Converse Hoops said.
“In this time when so much is going on in the black community, I see this as a small victory,” Cloud told Bullets Forever. “To be the first female athlete for the Converse [Hoops] brand is everything to me. But it means a lot more because I am a black female. We’re breaking barriers for the next generation of young black queens!”
“The biggest thing is for me to use my platform as a microphone. That’s the goal, be a voice for the voiceless,” said Cloud.
The WNBA champion is the first WNBA player to join the company’s new Converse Hoops roster.