Australian basketball legend Andrew Bogut has pointed to Liz Cambage after shocking details of her pre-Olympic blast were revealed.
He Sunday Telegraph exclusively reported that Cambage called Nigerian players “monkeys” and elbowed a rival in the head during a clash that led to the Tokyo Games, before retiring from the Opals campaign for mental health reasons. .
The Australian players were shocked by the saga and the team fought in Japan and crashed in the quarterfinals.
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In May last year, Cambage threatened to boycott the Olympics after responding with a promotional photo shoot that he said did not represent the different backgrounds of Australian athletes.
He eventually agreed to participate, but withdrew after the incident with the Nigerian team.
After former Opals captain Jenna O’Hea confirmed earlier this month Cambage told Nigerian players to “return to your third world country,” the 30-year-old posted a cryptic tweet saying : “The truth will always come to light and it has not yet reached dawn.”
Cambage will never play with the Opals again. Source: Supplied
On Sunday on Twitter, Bogut, who has clashed with Cambage in the past, re-posted this quote along with a screenshot of the Sunday Telegraph article.
In response to comments about Cambage’s situation from other social media users, Bogut said he wanted to “point out the hypocrisy of someone who ‘opposes racism’.”
“It makes a big difference when you publicly defend something and say it’s a big problem in the world, and then you do it,” he said.
When asked if he felt “vindicated”, Bogut replied: “It was not necessary. I knew the truth and I trusted the people who told me from the beginning. “
Bogut said earlier this month after O’Hea’s revelation that what Cambage said was more “disgusting” than originally reported.
“You just got the PG version, there was so much more to it than that; I’m glad someone came out and said it,” Bogut told 2GB radio at the time. “It simply came to our notice then.
“There’s a lot more in there that you can’t say on the radio … there are other words that you can never repeat, that I wouldn’t even say, to be honest with you.”
Andrew Bogut accused Cambage of “hypocrisy.” (Photo by Mark Metcalfe / Getty Images) Source: Getty Images
Nigerian players who spoke to him Sunday Telegraph Provided their identities were not disclosed, they reportedly heard Cambage say “return to your third world country” and called them “monkeys.”
“That’s what I remember, the term monkeys, yes. And back where you come from, “said a Nigerian player.” He definitely used monkeys or monkeys. “
Another player added: “He was on the court. He definitely told you to go back to your third world country. I didn’t hear it, but (teammates) confirmed that he told us monkeys.”
Cambage apologized to the Nigerian team a day after the fierce clash, but was not well received by all, with one player saying, “I don’t think it was a sincere apology.”
Read the full Sunday Telegraph survey here