Exiled Australian opal Liz Cambage has hit back at the national team in stunning fashion, claiming she submitted to ‘racial slurs and inappropriate behaviour’ from players and coaches before last year’s infamous exhibition game against Nigeria.
Cambage walked away from the Opals ahead of the Tokyo OIympics after accusations she called Nigerian players “monkey” and said “go back to your own third world country” in a heated exhibition game.
The former Opal has denied making those statements and has now revealed that she is in talks to play for the Nigeria national team.
The alleged insults during the exhibition game led Opals coach Sandy Brondello to slam the door on a return to the Paris Olympics, stating, “Liz did great things for the Opals, but it was too hard work towards the end, and we don’t need that.’
Cambage also parted ways with WNBA side LA Sparks after the Tokyo Olympics in a mutual decision.
It came after Nigerian-American teammate Chimey Ogwumike was filmed rolling her eyes at Cambage during a Sparks press conference.
Cambage (pictured with Australian Opals teammates in happier times) is now banned from representing her country at the Paris Olympics
Australian Opals head coach Sandy Brondello closed the door on a Cambage return, saying she would be too much ‘hard work’
Cambage has made serious allegations against the Opals and revealed she is in talks to switch allegiances and represent the Nigeria national team
Now Cambage, who plays in Israel with Maccabi Bnot Ashdod, has alleged that Opals players and coaches made racist remarks against her before the alleged incidents in the Nigeria exhibition game.
“During training with the Opals, Liz expressed concerns about the physical training and specifically asked questions about the medications and steroids she/players were given,” a Cambage spokeswoman said in a statement.
In addition, she experienced racist remarks and inappropriate behavior from certain teammates and coaches, which unfortunately were not adequately addressed by the team management.
“As the Opals prepare for the qualifiers of the Paris Olympics, we hope that team management will really address these issues and promote a more inclusive culture, rather than using Liz Cambage as a scapegoat.
“Liz remains committed to positive change within the sport she loves and has always represented with pride throughout her career.”
Cambage claims she and the Nigerian team have been ‘in cahoots’ since the alleged racist incident at the line of scrimmage with the Opals
Basketball Australia has been contacted for comment.
Cambage also revealed that she is currently in negotiations to move her allegiance away from Australia and represent the Nigerian national team.
After again denying making the racially charged comments during the exhibition match, she asked: “Why does Nigeria want me to leave Australia and represent them?” in an interview with Bleacher Report.
“We are asking me to leave the Australian team so that I can represent Nigeria.
“I’ve been in cahoots, I’ve talked to them since all this happened. This is what I mean, people don’t know the truth.’
When asked why the accusations of racism were leveled against me, she replied: ‘A lot of girls don’t like me.
“I don’t really lean towards racist insults. I don’t go like that, I’m very pro black.’
Cambage said the allegations against her are “because the truth looks much worse to other organizations involved than using me as a scapegoat.”
Nigerian basketball player Promise Amukamara responded to Cambage’s claim about representing her country by tweeting, “I’m sorry but this is not true. LOL.’
The star’s spokeswoman also revealed that the star center had been trying to battle through the lingering effects of an Achilles tendon injury to represent the Opals in Tokyo.
“In 2018, Liz Cambage left the Opals primarily due to a significant injury sustained while playing for the team,” the statement read.
Veteran Nigerian basketball player Promise Amukamara shot down Cambage’s claim about changing her allegiance to the African country
“The decision to quit was not taken lightly and was unrelated to alleged statements made in 2022, which she vehemently denies.
“Due to the severity of her Achilles tendon injury affecting her ability to play at the time, Liz took time to recover.
“While her ability to play was dramatically affected after that, she lost other playing opportunities and has to nurse the injury and play carefully to this day.”
Cambage has been noticeably absent from social media since the Tokyo Olympics incident, but this week posted footage of her scrimmage with championship coach Chris Johnson.
Johnson owns Jushoops, a leading global basketball player development company based in the United States.