October 07, (THEWILL) – Liz Cambage, an Australian basketballer, has been summoned to testify before a private panel over her actions during a pre-Olympic exhibition play against Nigeria.
Cambage withdrew from the Australian team for the Tokyo Olympics after an incident in Las Vegas. An investigation into the incident is nearing completion. Before the hearing, Basketball Australia will give all parties one more chance to add to a report on the event.
The 30-year-old will appear before an independent panel to answer questions about her role in the tense brawl that erupted in a closed-door scrimmage against Nigerians in July, just before the Tokyo Olympics.
If she is found guilty during the hearing, she might be barred from playing for the Opals and the Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL).
Given that Sydney will host the FIBA World Cup next year, the Australian national team ban would be particularly harmful to Cambage and the Opals, yet, she must mend connections within the Australian system regardless of the outcome of the hearing.
The four-time WNBA All-Star admitted to a heated verbal altercation in the past: “Yeah, things got heated in the Nigeria game. There was a physical altercation and there were words exchanged, but I’m hearing things that aren’t true at all,” Cambage said.
“Everything that happened and everything that was said is on film. I know what happened.”
Cambage pulled out of the Opals’ Tokyo Olympic campaign shortly after the incident was revealed, citing mental health issues such as panic attacks. In her absence, the Opals dropped out of the quarter-final stages.
Basketball Australia said on July 19 that its integrity unit was investigating a “breach of the integrity framework and code of conduct,” notwithstanding Cambage’s denials.
The 30-year-old will appear before an independent tribunal through zoom during the WNBA season’s competition later this month, following months of research that included repeated interviews with Nigerian players.
The Australian international is presently playing for the Las Vegas Aces, who are tied 2–2 in their semi-final series with the Phoenix Mercury. Cambage had nine points to help the Aces upset the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, forcing a fifth game.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
