Aussie basketball star who threatened Olympics boycott & has been embroiled in weight and race rows quits ‘terrifying’ Tokyo games
Liz Cambage, the 6ft8in basketball star who has been involved in a series of controversies including threatening to boycott the Olympics and accusing bosses of a lack of diversity in team pictures, has withdrawn from the games.
Towering Cambage, who is said to have been involved in a physical and verbal altercation with a Nigeria player in a closed scrimmage this week, admitted she had been taking daily medication to control her anxiety, adding that she is “a long way from where I want and need to be” ahead of the start of the showpiece next week.
The set-to forced the scrimmage to be stopped and had led to a Basketball Australia and Australian Olympic Committee review of Cambage’s status for the Olympics, according to ESPN, which also alleged that she broke team protocols to go out in Las Vegas and was involved in a third incident.
During an eventful May, the queen of the Women’s National Basketball Association in the US threatened not to join the games over what she perceived as a lack of ethnic balance in team pictures, using the hashtag “whitewashed Australia” before later saying that she did not care for“a white man’s opinion on racial issues”.
The London-born 29-year-old also appeared to call out an Indigenous athlete for using “fake tan”, thanked her “white” critics for “making me money” and described herself as a “psycho b*tch”.
“Every athlete competing in the Olympic games should be at their mental and physical peak,” Cambage said in a statement about her withdrawal.
“It’s no secret that in the past I’ve struggled with my mental health and recently I’ve been really worried about heading into a ‘bubble’ Olympics.
“No family. No friends. No fans. No support system outside of my team. It’s honestly terrifying for me.
“I know myself and I know I can’t be the Liz everyone deserves to see compete for the Opals. Not right now at least.
“I need to take care of myself mentally and physically. It breaks my heart to announce I’m withdrawing from the Olympics, but I think it’s best for the Opals and myself.
“I wish them nothing but the best of luck in Tokyo and I hope they go forth and win a gold medal.”
Olympic bosses recently announced that no fans would be allowed to the games amid a surge in Covid-19 cases in Japan.
Four-time WNBA All-Star Cambage is averaging almost 15 points for her Las Vegas Aces team this season.
The ambassador for pop superstar Rihanna’s lingerie line also labeled Connecticut Sun coach Curt Miller a “little white man” who had shown her “disrespect” after he made a reference to her weight.
Miller was subsequently given a $10,000 fine and a one-game suspension.
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