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Accusations of blackballing WNBA champion Natasha Cloud have sparked controversy after reporter Annie Costabile denied the rumors, stating that teams are still interested in her. Fans are pushing back against Costabile's claims, calling her a liar.
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Accusations of blackballing a WNBA champion have been met with a reporterâs controversial denial, but fans arenât just disagreeingâtheyâre 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 arenât buying it.
Yes, 2019 WNBA Champion Natasha Cloud is still without a team in the offseason. But The Athleticâs Annie Costabile has doubled down on Cloudâs situation, denying rumors that sheâs been blackballed by the league and further stating that teams are still interested in her. A trusted WNBA page on X shared Costabileâs assessment.
âNumerous teams have expressed interest in Natasha Cloud, per @AnnieCostabile,â the post read. âMultiple sources who work in the league have negated social media rumors that Cloud is being blackballed because of her activism.â
Itâs true that Cloudâs former team, the New York Liberty, has clearly disregarded this stance around Cloud. The teamâs general manager, Jonathan Kolb, said that he isnât hesitant about Cloudâs political views. Furthermore, he established that the teamâs decision not to re-sign her was based on team combinations and dynamics.
âOne of the ones that Iâm most proud of is mine with Natasha,â Kolb said recently. âWhat 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.â
While Kolbâs statement gives a heads-up in this regard, a player of Cloudâs stature, still unsigned by any other team at this part of the season, is quite surprising. From a performance perspective, thereâs 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 Cloudâs advocacy on issues like a pro-Palestine stance might be the reason teams are sidelining her in the offseason. But Costabileâs report is exactly a contrast from these reports. This subsequently put the journalist in the crosshairs of fan questioning.
Natasha Cloud has been accused of being blackballed from the WNBA due to her political beliefs and activism.
Annie Costabile is a reporter for The Athletic who denied the blackballing rumors and claimed that multiple teams are still interested in Natasha Cloud.
Fans are upset because they believe Costabile is lying about the lack of blackballing and are skeptical of her claims regarding team interest in Cloud.
Natasha Cloud, the 2019 WNBA Champion, is currently without a team in the offseason.

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âSince when do we quote Annie as a reliable source?!â wrote a fan.
âđ§ą whenever Annie say âmultiple sources,â sheâs lying thru her yellow *** teeth,â added another.
Costabile has been the epicenter of controversial reporting on several occasions. For instance, in 2024, she faced backlash for showcasing âdouble standardsâ 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 itâs the same sentiment that fans echoed through these comments. The uproar is even more. Because exactly a week ago EveryQueerâs Kristen Mikkelsen pointed out that Cloudâs political advocacy might be a reason behind Cloudâs current situation.
âOne of the best players in the WNBA is still unsigned days before training camp because she is one of the leagueâs most outspoken advocates. That is not a coincidence. That is a consequence,â Mikkelsen had said.
Aug 30, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; New York Liberty guard Natasha Cloud (9) reacts during the first half of a game against the Phoenix Mercury at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-Imagn Images
âSeems 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 đâ remarked another.
âNever trust Annie she always lying,â wrote a fan.
While the reportâs credibility is already in question, its timing has raised further dissent. Itâs 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 teamâs primary decision. It isnât considered unless a team has been dealing with a rash of injuries. As a result, fans are hesitant to accept Costabileâs report that multiple teams have âexpressed interestâ in Cloud, even at this point in the season when they are already in line to finalize their final 12-player roster.
âHmm, let @OMG_itsizzyb tell it, thatâs NOT true⊠Annie stop lying,â summed up another netizen.
Several fans, including this one, brought up Natasha Cloudâs off-court partner and current Toronto Tempo player, Isabelle Harrison. After all, being Cloudâs partner, itâs 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. âThis isnât true,â 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 Costabileâs 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.
The post âStop Lyingâ: National Reporter Faces Backlash Over Blackball Rumors Involving WNBA Champion appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.