- Liz Cambage has been fined a small fine
- She was kicked out of a basketball game
- The former Opal is a controversial figure
Liz Cambage escaped harsh punishment for her antics that led to her being kicked out of a basketball game in China.
Former WNBA player and Australian Opal was eliminated after brutally elbowing an opponent in the head and punching another in the face.
He found his career in jeopardy after allegedly making racial comments towards the Nigerian national team in a warm-up match ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Opals teammates and members of the Nigerian team alleged that Cambage called his opponents “monkeys” and told them to “go back to your third world country” during a break in the game.
That put her on the offside with her Nigerian-American Los Angeles Sparks teammates and she was eventually released by the franchise.
Liz Cambage receives small fine for violent outburst during match in China
Cambage (second from right) can be seen punching an opponent in the face from behind during a match in China.
Her comments also divided the Opals camp and she has since been blacklisted from representing her country again.
However, Cambage landed firmly on her feet, earning a $1 million contract with the Chengdu-based Sichuan Yuanda women’s team for just three months of work.
Her bumper payday means Cambage earns more than four times as much as the WNBA’s highest-paid stars, with Supermax contracts capped at $234,936 per season.
That money, however, has done little to moderate the center’s behavior after she was expelled over the weekend for a pair of unsavory incidents.
In the first, Cambage lunged and hit an opponent in the side of the head from behind while he was defending.
Lucky to still be on the court, she then delivered a nasty elbow to an opponent’s head while on offense.
That led to her being ejected from the match, but Cambage was far from done.
After refusing to leave the court while attempting to have officials review the incident on video, he stormed toward an official in a threatening manner and shouted in his face, before mocking the crowd and bowing.
According to the Daily Telegraph, Cambage received a fine of $1,075 as well as a warning from the Chinese basketball authority.
Cambage (pictured, second from left) was eventually banned from representing the Opals again after her long list of indiscretions.
Cambage (left) did not endear herself to her Nigerian teammates in the WNBA, where she was released by the Los Angeles Sparks.
Precedents suggest he would have faced a suspension in any other league in the world for his behavior.
Basketball fans were quick to fiercely criticize the Australian star for her actions, calling her a “clown” and saying “a leopard doesn’t change its spots.”
As the Opals prepare for a tough campaign at the Paris Olympics, several online commentators said they were glad Cambage was not part of the tournament.
“I’m a proud Australian but Liz is an embarrassment not only to the majority of Australians but to all those players and ‘unbiased’ viewers around the world who follow the sport,” one fan posted.
“Liz has some issues to work out,” another posted.
‘What a waste of talent. She could have gone down as one of the all-time greats if she wasn’t a magnet for drama. I’m so glad she got kicked out of the Opals. “Her behavior is frankly disgraceful,” added another.
Cambage’s team lost the match 96-85 and Inner Mongolia tied the series 1-1.