Former Australian Basketball Captain Confirms Exiled Teammate Told Team Nigeria To Go Back To ‘Third World Country’ Before Olympics

Amiliano FragosoMay 9th, 2022, 6:53 pm
 

Former Australian Women's Basketball Captain Speaks Out Against Liz Cambage

WNBA star Liz Cambage is one of the most prominent figures in women’s basketball today, seen as a role model to many young girls across the world. But after this weekend, not sure you can say that anymore after former Australian captain Jenna O’Hea confirmed that Cambage told Team Nigeria to “go back to your third world country” prior to the Tokyo Olympics.

O’Hea confirmed this to Australia’s ABC Sports, Saturday, during an edition of Offsiders , a network program similar to American sports talk shows. Cambage was a teammate of O’Hea and the Opals throughout her international career until 2021, when she withdrew from the national team a week before the tournament started, citing mental health reasons. The Australian women crashed out of the Olympics without their star, losing in the quarter-finals.

During the segment, host Kellie Underwood asked the former captain about Cambage and the rumored brawl that took place at an Olympic practice between Cambage and Team Nigeria, to which O’Hea confirmed to all of Australia that the biggest Australian female basketball player used the slur against the African team.

“It’s never really emerged what happened but I’ve had it confirmed from a few sources,” Underwood stated to O’Hea. “Is it correct that you were playing Nigeria and Liz Cambage had her feathers ruffled and she turned to them and said, ‘Go back to your third world country’?”

“That is all 100% correct,” O’Hea confirmed.

The inclusion of the exiled Australian in the program stemmed from her recent comments about the split between her and the Opals, saying she never felt supported and protected by the Australian women’s basketball team.

“I can hold my head up high and say that I always loved her, always cared for her, always supported her, always had her back,” O’Hea said. “I think that is her reality and I think listeners and watchers out there can believe who they want to believe. But I can hold my head up high.”

The reported brawl had been in the rumor mill for quite some time as various Australian ball players tried to get to the bottom of it, including former NBA big man Andrew Bogut, who added on to O’Hea’s admission Monday.

“You’ve just got the PG version, there was much more than that, I’m just glad someone’s come out and said it,” Bogut told 2GB radio in Australia. “There’s much more in there that you can’t say on radio…there’s some other words that you can never repeat, that I’d never even say, to be honest with you.”

O’Hea was also asked if Cambage could ever return to the Aussie side, to which the former captain replied with a resounding no.

The clip made its way around the world overnight as Cambage herself responded to her former captain’s claims the next day.

“The truth will always come to light, and it ain’t even dawn yet,” Cambage tweeted Sunday morning.

Cambage, 30, just embarked on her first season with the Los Angeles Sparks, helping them to a 2-0 record to start the 2022 WNBA season.

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