Never-before-seen footage of Liz Cambage’s clash with Nigerian players during the infamous exhibition game with the Australian national basketball team has surfaced just days after she was banned from playing for her country again.
Cambage walked away from the Opals ahead of the Tokyo OIympics after allegations she called Nigerian players “monkey” and said “go back to your own third world country” in the heated 2021 warm-up game.
The former Opal has denied making those statements and has now said she is in talks to play for the Nigeria national team – a claim that has been furiously denied by two of the country’s top basketball players.
In the new footage, Cambage elbows Nigerian star Victoria Macaulay in the face and then punches another opponent in the face.
Cambage’s teammates are not rushing to support her by confronting the Nigerian player who knocks her to the ground in the new footage
That second opponent, wearing the No. 9 jersey, then sprints towards Cambage as she stands on the sidelines and punches her in the face, knocking her to the ground.
In a telling detail, none of the Opals support their teammate by colliding with the Nigerian star after the hit.
The Australian team crashed out of the Tokyo Olympics quarter-finals after a bitter rift erupted between the players and Cambage over her alleged racist comments.
She received a formal reprimand from Basketball Australia after the incident was investigated.
The accusations of racism surfaced in 2022, when former Opals skipper Jenna O’Hea claimed that the accusations that Cambage used the “ape” and “third world” insults were “100 percent” true.
The ex-WNBA star (pictured playing for Australia) has made serious accusations with the Opals after head coach Sandy Brondello said she would never play for the team again
O’Hea went on to say her ex-teammate would never play for Australia again – and was proved right when Opals coach Sandy Brondello said Cambage is no longer eligible for selection because she is ‘too hard working’.
‘In the Opals programme, you have to fit into the culture we had. Liz did great things for the Opals, but towards the end it was too hard work and we don’t need that,” Brondello said last Friday.
“We have a short time together and one player cannot dominate the team.”
Cambage responded to her suspension from the team by accusing Opals coaches and players of making racist and “inappropriate” comments towards her.
“During training with the Opals, Liz expressed concerns about physical training and specifically raised questions about the medications and steroids given to her/players,” a Cambage spokeswoman said in a statement Monday.
“In addition, she experienced racist remarks and inappropriate behavior from certain teammates and coaches, which unfortunately were not adequately addressed by the team management.”
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.’
The 31-year-old has claimed she is in talks to play for the Nigerian national team, but that has been labeled “false” by basketball player Promise Amukamara.
When asked why the accusations of racism were made against her, 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.”
The 31-year-old was born in London to a Nigerian father and Australian mother so she could qualify to play for the African country.
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.’
“She called us Monkeys and told us to go back to our country. Yes, she said that,” Amukamara wrote.
“Literally everyone on both teams has the same story BUT them, so do the math!”