Washington Mystics guard Natasha Cloud has signed a shoe deal with Converse. Cloud becomes the first women’s basketball player to ink an endorsement deal from Converse. The sneaker company, who’s parent company is Nike, made the announcement Monday.
Converse had delayed the announcement of the deal so Cloud could focus response to the death of George Floyd.
Cloud penned an essay “Your Silence is a Knee on My Neck” viaPlayers’ Tribune. There she described her feelings against white America whom has remained silence against racism and social injustice.
She attended a Philadelphia protest against racial injustice over the weekend along with former Mystics teammate Kristi Toliver.
Converse is welcoming Cloud’s outspokenness. In fact, the shoe brand is donating $25,000 to racial justice group in Philadelphia as part of the deal. Cloud grew up just outside of Philadelphia and attended St. Joseph’s in college before being a second-round pick of the Mystics in 2015. Converse will also release a short documentary about Cloud’s advocacy, according to SB Nation.
Natasha Cloud most recently shared a powerful piece on @playerstribune (link in bio to read it) against the racial injustices that are affecting Black people in America, and then took to the streets of Philly to demand that message be heard. This is one of many reasons we are both proud and humbled to welcome WNBA champion @t__cloud9 to the family.
Converse / Instagram
Converse once was the top brand of basketball shoes from the 1970s through the 80s. After an hiatus from the sport, the brand is making a comeback into the basketball sneaker market. In addition to Cloud, Converse has previously inked deals with former Washington Wizard Kelly Oubre and Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green.
