The infamous fight involving former WNBA star Liz Cambage during a 2021 scrimmage between the Australian Opals and the Nigerian national team resulted in the Aussie pro being smashed to the floor, according to newly surfaced video footage.
The video leaked shortly after Cambage addressed the incident in a sit-down interview with Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks on Monday, during which she denied calling Nigerian players “monkeys” and told them to “go back to your own third world country” in the pre-Tokyo Olympics scrimmage.
The game was extremely physical, as seen in the video, which showed Cambage exchanging words with D’tigress players and hitting an opponent in the face while boxing out under the basket.
Things escalated when Cambage swung her arm and made contact with the face of Nigerian star Victoria Macaulay — who was doubled over afterward with her hand near her nose and mouth while both teams ran back down the court.
After a few seconds, Macaulay then sprinted over to the Opals bench and swung at Cambage’s head, knocking her to the floor.
That’s when Macaulay and Cambage were held back by their respective teams.
Cambage can be heard in the video saying “I’m done” in the aftermath of the altercation.
The now 31-year-old walked away from the Opals a week before their first game at the Tokyo Olympics, and she hasn’t played with the team since.
At the time, Cambage said she had been having panic attacks about the thought of heading into an Olympic COVID bubble.
In May 2022, former Opals captain Jenna O’Hea backed the allegations that Cambage made racist comments to the Nigeria team.
When asked about the 2021 scrimmage and whether Cambage made the comments to opposing players, O’Hea said, “That is all 100 percent correct” while serving as a panelist on ABC’s “Offsiders.”
While recalling the situation with Rooks, Cambage denied the allegations — instead she claimed she is “in cahoots” with the Nigerian team while expressing her interest to play for them.
Nigeria Basketball Federation vice president Babs Ogunade denied speaking with Cambage about playing for it on Tuesday.
“Disregard the news,” he told ESPN’s Colin Udoh. “I don’t know who she’s talking to. Not me and definitely not (NBBF president Ahmadu Musa) Kida.”
Following Cambage’s bombshell interview, Nigerian stars furiously repudiated Cambage’s claim
“I’m sorry but this is false,” Nigerian guard Promise Amukamara wrote on X, former known as Twitter, on Monday. “She called us monkeys and 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!”
In another tweet, Amukamara wrote, “& the only person she has been in ‘cahoots’ w/ was the former coach of our National team & he’s no longer the coach, so there’s that!”
D’tigress guard Sarah Ogoke also spoke out, writing: “We are not recruiting you and you definitely spewed racist profanities against us during our scrimmage.”
Cambage released a statement on Twitter Tuesday “to see the record straight” about her comments. and the leaked video.
“Before the scrimmage, I had expressed concerns to Opals staff about the unacceptable playing conditions within the COVID ‘Bubble’ they were imposing,” Cambage wrote. “The circulating video portrays a highly physical game with no officiating, resulting in me being attacked and sustaining a concussion.
“Contrary to false claims I did not use racial slurs or refer to anyone as a monkey, which is evident from the footage.”
Cambage then clarified her comments about her interest in joining the Nigeria national team.
“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.”
Cambage concluded her statement with: “I also send well wishes to all my former teammates. Looking forward to seeing you all on the court.”
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