Accusations of blackballing a WNBA champion have been met with a reporter’s controversial denial, but fans aren’t just disagreeing—they’re calling her a liar. While the incident itself is bizarre, reports of the player facing aloofness from the league due to her political beliefs dominated the headlines even more. Now, a reporter has shared her assessment, but the fans aren’t buying it.

Yes, 2019 WNBA Champion Natasha Cloud is still without a team in the offseason. But The Athletic’s Annie Costabile has doubled down on Cloud’s situation, denying rumors that she’s been blackballed by the league and further stating that teams are still interested in her. A trusted WNBA page on X shared Costabile’s assessment.

“Numerous teams have expressed interest in Natasha Cloud, per @AnnieCostabile,” the post read. “Multiple sources who work in the league have negated social media rumors that Cloud is being blackballed because of her activism.”

It’s true that Cloud’s former team, the New York Liberty, has clearly disregarded this stance around Cloud. The team’s general manager, Jonathan Kolb, said that he isn’t hesitant about Cloud’s political views. Furthermore, he established that the team’s decision not to re-sign her was based on team combinations and dynamics.

“One of the ones that I’m most proud of is mine with Natasha,” Kolb said recently. “What she stands for is what I stand for. I believe in speaking up for the voiceless. There is no better embodiment of that than Natasha Cloud, and she puts her life on the line every single day with saying what she believes.”

While Kolb’s statement gives a heads-up in this regard, a player of Cloud’s stature, still unsigned by any other team at this part of the season, is quite surprising. From a performance perspective, there’s no doubt that Natasha Cloud is one of the finest in the business. Her numbers last season, including 10.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 5.1 assists, add further weight to it.

Of course, there were a few reports confirming that Cloud’s advocacy on issues like a pro-Palestine stance might be the reason teams are sidelining her in the offseason. But Costabile’s report is exactly a contrast from these reports. This subsequently put the journalist in the crosshairs of fan questioning.

Political Advocacy and Subtle Hints From Off-court Partner Complicate Natasha Cloud’s Offseason Situation

“Since when do we quote Annie as a reliable source?!” wrote a fan. 

“🧢 whenever Annie say “multiple sources,” she’s lying thru her yellow *** teeth,” added another. 

Costabile has been the epicenter of controversial reporting on several occasions. For instance, in 2024, she faced backlash for showcasing “double standards” in a play featuring Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. For context, Costabile downplayed a Clark foul on Reese while victimizing Clark on similar fouls across the season. Courtesy of numerous such instances, Costabile has been seen as a biased journalist at times during her reporting.

And it’s the same sentiment that fans echoed through these comments. The uproar is even more. Because exactly a week ago EveryQueer’s Kristen Mikkelsen pointed out that Cloud’s political advocacy might be a reason behind Cloud’s current situation.

“One of the best players in the WNBA is still unsigned days before training camp because she is one of the league’s most outspoken advocates. That is not a coincidence. That is a consequence,” Mikkelsen had said.

“Seems like someone called up her favorite reporter and asked her to write something positive about her. Yeah, teams are so interested their waiting until the season starts to fit her onto their roster 🙄” remarked another. 

“Never trust Annie she always lying,” wrote a fan. 

While the report’s credibility is already in question, its timing has raised further dissent. It’s important to note that the team rebuilding in the offseason is in the rearview. The preseason games are already underway. And all the teams largely have their plans chalked out at this point in the season. Team combinations and building chemistry are the major factors that the teams are stressing right now.

That being said, signing a player at this moment in the season cannot seem to be a team’s primary decision. It isn’t considered unless a team has been dealing with a rash of injuries. As a result, fans are hesitant to accept Costabile’s report that multiple teams have “expressed interest” in Cloud, even at this point in the season when they are already in line to finalize their final 12-player roster.

“Hmm, let @OMG_itsizzyb tell it, that’s NOT true… Annie stop lying,” summed up another netizen. 

Several fans, including this one, brought up Natasha Cloud’s off-court partner and current Toronto Tempo player, Isabelle Harrison. After all, being Cloud’s partner, it’s quite certain that Harrison will have a clearer perspective of the situation than Annie Costabile. According to certain fan comments, it seems that Harrison had shared her opinion on the post. “This isn’t true,” Harrison had written in a now-deleted comment.

Even if the comment is considered, Cloud has yet to speak up on this, as she awaits a WNBA team for the 2026 season. All in all, political stances and advocacy are one thing, and so are the doubts over Costabile’s credibility. But a former WNBA champion slowly drifting away from the spotlight and fading into the background is quite disheartening to see for a section of hoops fans as well.