Australian basketball star Liz Cambage has apologized for calling Nigerian players “monkeys” in a now-deleted Instagram post. The incident occurred in the lead-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where Cambage was set to represent Australia.
Following reports that she branded Nigerian players “monkey” and told them to “go back to your own third world country” during the tense warm-up game in 2021, Cambage quit the Opals before the Tokyo Olympics.
Cambage then racially denigrates the entire African team by calling them “monkeys” and asking them to “go back to your third world country” during the ensuing chaos, slapping another Nigerian player across the face.
Before the end of the second quarter, embarrassed Australian team officials were compelled to abandon the practice match.
Cambage’s post quickly went viral and sparked outrage in Nigeria. The Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF) called Cambage’s comments “racist and unacceptable” and demanded an apology.
Cambage eventually apologized for her comments, saying that she was “deeply sorry” and that she “deeply regrets” what she said. She also said that she was “not proud of” her actions and that she “learned a valuable lesson.”
“A lot of girls don’t like me and a lot of times I say no to something, people really want to make me look like the issue,” Cambage said.
“I never wanted to go into that Olympics. I spent the whole week going into that bubble saying I don’t want to be in the bubble. I’ll show you text messages between me and Sandy Brondello [saying] I do not want to go to this Olympics, I do not want to be a part of this Olympics, I do not believe in this Olympics.
“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.”
Cambage’s apology and her efforts to educate herself are a positive step. However, it is important to remember that words have power, and Cambage’s comments were deeply hurtful to many people.
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