The Australian Olympic Committee has confirmed that Liz Cambage’s status for the Tokyo Games is in jeopardy following reports of a physical altercation during a recent scrimmage against Nigeria.
AOC chairman Ian Chesterman told reporters on Friday from Tokyo that Basketball Australia was investigating the alleged incident. He said that he didn’t have any more information about what happened.
Report: Cambage had ‘physical altercation, charged verbal exchange’
ESPN’s Olgun Uluc reported on Thursday that Cambage was involved in a “physical altercation” and a “charged verbal exchange” during a closed-door scrimmage against Nigeria in Las Vegas and that Basketball Australia is debating her status for the Olympics. Both teams are in Nevada this week for Olympic training camps and exhibitions against other national teams preparing for Tokyo. It’s not clear who else was involved in the alleged altercation with Cambage.
Cambage is Australia’s best player
Cambage, a four-time WNBA All-Star, is a two-time Olympian and Australia’s leading scorer and best player. The 29-year-old center averages 14.6 points and 8.9 rebounds for the Las Vegas Aces this season. She was selected for Wednesday’s All-Star game, but did not play as she’s dealing with Achilles tendon issues ahead of the Olympics.
She was seen in good spirits enjoying the All-Star game from the sideline.
Chesterman told reporters that the Cambage’s status for Tokyo depends on the result of an ongoing Basketball Australia investigation.
“It will be a matter of them working through with Basketball Australia to see if there’s any resulting decisions that need to be made.”
Basketball Australia hasn’t publicly commented on the alleged incident.
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