Aussie basketball star Liz Cambage allegedly used a disgraceful racist slur against the Nigerian team at a warm-up game in 2021, sparking a brawl that ended with her quitting the national team.
The former Opal has been accused of calling the Nigerians ‘monkeys’ after elbowing one of her opponents in the neck and slapping another in the face during the clash, which is still sending shockwaves through the Australian national team.
Cambage is accused of using the slur after a Nigerian player king-hit her in the head as retaliation for the two physical clashes, the Daily Telegraph reported.
A Nigerian player claims the Australian told one of her teammates on the day of the brawl that she wished she played for the African nation because her fellow Opals were racist, according to the publication.
The revelations led Bogut to accuse Cambage of being two-faced in a series of posts on Twitter.
Liz Cambage has been accused of calling Nigerian players ‘monkeys’ during an infamous brawl that derailed Australia’s preparations for the Tokyo Olympics
A Nigerian player claims the former Opals star told her that her Aussie teammates were racist and she wished she played for the African nation instead
He replied to comments on the allegations from other people by writing that he wanted to ‘point out the hypocrisy of someone who “stands against racism”.’
Bogut appeared to be referring to Cambage taking a stand against racism by calling out the lack of people of colour in Australia’s Tokyo Olympics promotions when he made another comment.
‘Big difference when you publicly advocate for something and say it’s a huge problem in the world, then do that very thing,’ he wrote.
When another poster wrote, ‘There seems to be a constant theme lately that those who virtue signal the loudest end up being the worst offenders about the very thing they stand against,’ he replied, ‘Fact check: true.’
It’s not the first time the ex-Milwaukee Bucks and Golden State Warriors star has slammed the controversial ex-Opal.
Earlier this month former Opals captain Jenna O’Hea alleged Cambage told the Nigerian team to ‘go back to your third world country’ during the match, which was held in Las Vegas just weeks before the Tokyo Olympics.
At the time, Bogut insisted there was much worse to come on top of the alleged ‘third world’ slur.
‘It’s beyond despicable what was said and I truly believe if that was anyone else, we’d hear much more about it.
‘There’s much more in there that you can’t say on radio … there were some other words used that I would never repeat, that I would never say, to be honest with you.’
The Nigerians were especially shocked by the alleged slurs because Cambage’s father is from the African nation.
‘As a black person, that would be something she would be offended by, so for her to say it, I believe that she just really wanted to cut deep,’ one of the team said.
‘For us being Nigerian, any other Nigerian we see – half, a quarter – if you’re Nigerian we’ll be calling you a sister,’ another player explained.
The effect of Cambage’s alleged slurs on the Nigerians was made worse by the fact her father is Nigerian, the report claims
Nigerian players turned their back on the Aussie when she fronted their team to apologise
The 30-year-old defended abandoning the Opals just weeks out from the Tokyo Games and said she never felt supported by her teammates
Cambage was independently investigated and issued a formal reprimand – but not suspended or fined – after the practice game altercation derailed the Opals’ Tokyo campaign.
She broke her silence on the controversy after the ‘third world country’ allegations were aired by posting a cryptic tweet that read, ‘The truth will always come to light, and it ain’t even dawn yet.’
An Opals teammate said Cambage gave a ‘lighthearted’ apology to the team, which was offside with her because she allegedly didn’t participate much in their Olympic preparations.
They were further offended when the star took to Twitter to wish the Nigerian team luck in Tokyo just before the Games began.
The Opals were offended when Cambage took to Twitter to wish the Nigerian team luck at the Toyko Games just before the Olympics began
Cambage defended abandoning the Australian national basketball team weeks before the Olympics, claiming she didn’t feel supported by teammates.
The basketball superstar said she is now ‘living her best life’ playing for the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA.
‘I’m supported, I’m protected on a level the Opals or the Australian team never gave to me,’ she said.
That remark and the alleged ‘third world country’ slur prompted a furious response from Aussie basketball legends Andrew Bogut and Andrew Gaze.
Aussie ex-NBA star Andrew Bogut claimed the full version of Cambage’s verbal clash with the Nigerian team is ‘beyond despicable’
‘The thing that really, really grates at me is when she makes the comments to say she feels supported in Los Angeles at a level that wasn’t there with the Australian team; and the suggestion that she was never supported by Australia, the Opals or Basketball Australia, that is highly offensive,’ said Gaze.
‘There was some behaviour from Liz that under any reasonable judgment, there would have been some significant repercussions.
‘She was supported, not just by me, but many others along the way.’