The Washington Mystics fought hard to make it to the WNBA finals for the first time in franchise history. But in the midst of the finals, guard Natasha Cloud is fighting for something else: Respect for her team.
"Sometimes I think we can be the forgotten team, with the Caps and the Wizards," Cloud told News4.
Ahead of Game 2 in the WNBA finals, a group of Cloud's family and friends visited the sports-oriented Glory Days Grill in Alexandria to catch the game.
"They went in and asked the bartender to turn on one of the TVs to the Mystics game," Cloud said.
Cloud says the bartender asked the manager, who had an unexpected response.
"The manager comes out and says, 'Yeah, no, we're not switching any of the TVs because it's Sunday and the NFL games are on," she told News4.
Cloud wasn't at the restaurant but turned to social media to address the restaurant management directly. She expressed her disappointment in an Instagram story and tagged the restaurant.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
She said the restaurant "doesn't support women's sports... especially their HOMETOWN TEAM."
The statement struck a cord and Mystics fans joined the chorus, expressing anger.
A Glory Days Grill representative reached out to Cloud on Twitter and promised to make things right.
They reiterated their apology in a statement to News4.
"We obviously dropped the ball here, and we aren't excusing it," the statement read. "We are making every effort to ensure that this doesn't happen again, and that all local teams, regardless of gender, age or sport, are adequately represented in our restaurant."
Unlike so many social media outrage stories, however, this one has a civil ending. Glory Days Grill planned a party for Game 3 on Wednesday, with drink specials, food deals, kids activities and Mystics merchandise giveaways.
Safe to say, the bar will air Cloud's battle on the court.
"This has been our best season yet," she said.
