Liz Cambage Called Out For Calling Nigerian Basketball Team ‘Monkeys’

Liz Cambage currently owns the WNBA single-game scoring record with her 53-point performance against New York Liberty. She is undeniably one of the greatest at what she does, yet it appears that she lacks the ability to respect all of her opponents.

Liz Cambage was reportedly involved in a number of behavioral issues while on the Australian Opals team, including an incident in which she yelled racist slurs at another team. Cambage labeled Nigerian players “monkeys” during a five-minute rant in Las Vegas prior to the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, which resulted in her storming away from her teammates.

The Sunday Telegraph obtained a video purportedly showing Cambage elbowing a Nigerian player in the head during a closed-door practice game in Las Vegas. According to News.com.au, Cambage then hits a second Nigeran player in the face, calls the entire squad “monkeys,” and told them to “go back to your third world country.” The practice match was called off before the second quarter ended.

On the condition of anonymity, the publication spoke with certain Nigerian players. They confirmed what Cambage had claimed. “That’s what I recall, the term monkeys, yes.  And go back to where you came from,” confirmed one Nigerian player. “She definitely did use monkeys or monkey.” “I was on the court,” a second player informed the newspaper. “She definitely said go back to your third-world country. I didn’t hear it, but [teammates] confirmed she called us monkeys.” 

Cambage appears to have informed Nigerian team members ahead of the practice game that she would prefer playing with them since her Opals teammates were racist. Cambage is half Nigerian through her father. However, it appears that the Opals team had plenty of issues with Cambage.

“There had been so many behavioral issues that had gone on previously that we could write a book, but that [Vegas] incident happened to be the final straw, which happened to be the worst one.”

Cambage apologized to the Nigerian squad the next day, however, others questioned if it was real.

“Although she’s Australian, we knew she was half Nigerian so before then it was like she was one of us. That was another thing to cut deep, for her to do that and not show any remorse at all.”

The report came after Cambage spoke with ABC Sports about her time with the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA, saying she now feels “protected on a level that the Opals, or the Australian team, never gave to me,” and that the Opals never wanted her to be “the best I can be.”

Let’s see whether she does it again and if she has learned from her mistakes. To get the latest updates, keep an eye on Thirsty.

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