Opals star Liz Cambage has hit back at reports around the circumstances about her withdrawal from the Tokyo Olympics, saying she’s been at “breaking point” for several weeks.
The Daily Telegraph reported on Friday that Cambage was involved in an altercation with Nigerian players in a scrimmage match in Las Vegas, while reportedly also breaking protocols amid several alleged incidents.
Cambage announced she was skipping the Games due to mental health reasons and later released a video on Instagram saying she was “pretty annoyed” at the “fake news” around her withdrawal.
“Here we go again,” she said in the video.
“First of all, I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who sent me a lot of love the past 16 hours. Thank you, I love y’all.
“This decision has been a few days in the making but I’ve been at breaking point for a month or so now.
“But as soon as I put out that little statement yesterday and made the final decision, I felt a world of anxiety and pressure and heaviness I have been carrying lift straight off me.
“I’m pretty annoyed at all the fake news and the lies I’m seeing floating around in news articles and being shown and being asked about.
“I just want to say this decision was coming and I’m happy I finally made it on my own terms. It’s sad that news got leaked yesterday that I didn’t even know about.
“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, flying around from people in Australia and America which is crazy.
“Everything that happened and everything that was said is on film. I know what happened and I do not appreciate the lies and people constantly trying to tear me down. Hating on me won’t bring you love, at all.”
Just hours after Cambage’s withdrawal, the Opals completed their preparation for the Olympics in style with a highly-impressive 70-67 win over Team USA.
Despite trailing by 13 points at half time, the Opals rallied largely on the back of young gun Ezi Magbegor, who finished with 17 points.
Their Olympic campaign kicks off against Belgium in Saitama on July 27, with group games against China and Puerto Rico to follow.
Awesome Opals! ♥️🇦🇺🏀
— Andrew Gaze (@AndrewGaze10) July 16, 2021