New footage has emerged of the violent bust-up in opposition to Nigeria that noticed Liz Cambage dumped from Australia’s crew on the eve of the Tokyo Olympics.
Videos have been leaked to Twitter exhibiting Cambage’s vicious elbow to the top of a Nigerian participant through the scrimmage in 2021.
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Nigerian centre Victoria Macaulay then approaches Cambage on the Australian bench and lashes out with an open arm to her head in retaliation.
Cambage is then held again by her Australian Opals teammates as they try to stop an all out brawl.
The footage of the violent altercation comes as Cambage revealed her shock plan to modify allegiances and characterize Nigeria in a bid to revive her basketball profession.
Those plans have since been slammed by the Nigerian basketball federation and Cambage herself has tried to stroll again the unique feedback. More on that under.
Cambage hasn’t performed for Australia since she allegedly instructed Nigerian gamers to “go back to their third world country” throughout a scrimmage forward of the 2021 Games.
The 31-year-old has denied the allegations, regardless of quite a few separate confirmations she made the remark — together with from former Opals captain Jenna O’Hea.
WATCH THE ALTERCATION IN THE VIDEO PLAYER ABOVE
Now Cambage has damaged her silence, repeating her denial to the Bleacher Report and making the surprising revelation she is in talks to play for Nigeria.
Asked why a number of gamers and sources from each the Australian and Nigerian groups claimed she made the comment, Cambage stated: “A lot of girls don’t like me.
“I don’t really lean towards racially backed insults.
“That’s not how I go.
“I’m very pro-Black. I did not say these things to these girls.
“Leak the tapes. I’ve never owned the tapes. Leak the tapes. Y’all want to see the truth, leak the tapes. Everyone in Australia that has seen the tapes, still lying about what is on these tapes, leak the tapes.
“I want it out there. Put it out there. I’ve never owned it. I didn’t even have it when everything happened. I couldn’t even protect myself with it. I had to get lawyers to get a tape with my own assault on it.”
Pressed on why her facet of the story is in stark distinction to different accounts, Cambage stated: “Because the truth looks a lot worse for other organisations involved, than using me as a scapegoat.
“Why does Nigeria want me to leave Australia and go and represent them?”
“We’re filing for me to leave the Australian team, so I can represent Nigeria.
“I’ve been in cahoots, I’ve been talking to them since all of this happened.
“This is what I mean, people don’t know the truth.”
That interview was posted on Bleacher Report’s social channels on Tuesday this week.
Then on Wednesday, following a powerful response to her feedback from plenty of sides, Cambage tried to stroll again a few of these claims – whereas urging “the media and fans to fact-check before publishing and to avoid spreading unverified claims”.
Claims that had been primarily based on her personal feedback.
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After a protracted assertion attempting to make clear the battle and once more refuting the racial slur claims which were verified by members of each groups concerned, Cambage needed to “set the record straight” about switching nations.
“To set the record straight, I never stated that I had officially joined the Nigerian national team,” she wrote. “Instead, I expressed my interest in joining the team and representing Nigeria. I had discussions with staff members about the necessary steps to become eligible and thought I was doing them. I extend my best wishes to all players on D-Tigress.”
She later writes: “I also send well wishes to all my former teammates. Looking forward to seeing you all on the court.”
It shouldn’t be clear which gamers or groups that’s directed in direction of or what her future plans to return to the court docket really seem like.
Cambage has not performed an expert sport of basketball since July 2022.
She hasn’t represented Australia because the warm-up sport incident earlier than the 2021 Olympics and her WNBA profession has stalled since she walked out on the Los Angeles Sparks final yr.
Veteran Nigerian girls’s basketballer Promise Amukamara additionally tried to close down Cambage’s switching claims, tweeting: “I’m sorry but this is False. Lol.
“She called us Monkeys & told us to go back to our country. Yes she said that!
“Literally everyone from both teams have the same story BUT her, so y’all do the math!
“& the only person she has been in “cahoots” w/ was the previous coach of our National crew & he’s not the coach, so there’s that!”
A outstanding Nigerian journalist, Colin Udoh, has additionally launched info he claims to have acquired immediately from the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF).
Udoh states that Cambage had “reached out to a NBBF official” to allow them to know the Bleacher Report interview was coming and about her feedback associated to switching nationwide groups.
The reporter then states he had contacted that very same official, who confirmed Cambage had despatched them a textual content message that that they had not replied to after which added “it would be easier for an elephant to pass through the eye of a needle, not even a camel” than for Cambage to play for Nigeria.
Cambage is of Nigerian descent and would in idea be eligible to play for the nation, however it could take a rare ruling by basketball’s governing physique, FIBA.
In its official Internal Regulations, FIBA has an exception that permits the Secretary General to authorise a nationality change “if the change is in the interest of basketball”.
It could be exhausting to see that exception being granted on this case, even when NBBF was eager on the transfer.
In one other submit, Udoh has quoted NBBF vice chairman Babs Ogunade as stating: “Disregard the news. I don’t know who she’s talking to. Not me and definitely not (NBBF president Ahmadu Musa) Kida.”
Australia’s Opals gained bronze eventually yr’s FIBA Women’s World Cup with out Cambage and coach Sandy Brondello has formally shut the door on her returning to the nationwide facet.
Cambage pleaded her case to be launched from Australian illustration.
“I have struggled a lot with the Australian team,” Cambage instructed Taylor Rooks on the Bleacher Report podcast.
“I’ve said it constantly. I’ve dealt with teammates with blackface, I’ve dealt with coaches lying, coaches pushing other athletes to talk badly about me in the media. There’s been a lot.
“I really hope Australia releases me and FIBA allows it because my fans miss me playing. I’d love to do another Olympics. Paris would be fab. There is nothing like an Olympic village, it is one of the most inspirational places ever.
“My last Olympics was hideous. Rio Olympics was horrible. Rio Olympics was one of the worst times of my life and that’s a reflection of the coaching staff and the team. I would love to start fresh with teammates that understand me, look like me, appreciate me and respect me. I have been talking with the Nigerian coach… he has my back.”
Cambage additionally claimed that she had not instructed Nigerian gamers to “go back to their third-world country” and as a substitute had stated totally different in gentle of her frustration about having to play in a Covid-affected Olympics.
“When this all happened a coach tried to be like, ‘You said this’, and I was like, ‘I didn’t say that’. I went to apologise to people (and said), ‘I don’t say these things. I don’t know if y’all are deaf but that’s not what I said’.
“I didn’t want these (Tokyo) Olympics to happen. I think I’d just been hit and I was on the bench drinking and I was like, ‘We should all go back to our f***ing countries. Like we should all go home’. I didn’t say anything third-world, I didn’t call anyone an animal, I didn’t call anyone the N-word.”
Cambage’s resolution to give up the Sparks final yr got here within the wake of an excruciating press convention wherein two of her Sparks teammates appeared like they needed to be anyplace else however subsequent to the Australian.
In the press convention, sisters Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike — who’re Nigerian — had been seen squirming uncomfortably and even rolling their eyes as Cambage spoke about her return to the crew from a bout of Covid.
Source: www.news.com.au
