Australian basketball legend Andrew Gage has again weighed in on the Liz Cambridge situation, saying it is difficult to see how his activities could not be interpreted as intentional.
On Monday, Cambridge denied allegations of racism and violence, something that raised eyebrows among many who saw the footage and heard witness testimony.
“The only reason this (complaint) has been raised in the last few weeks is because of the very negative comments he made about Basketball Australia and the Opals in particular,” Gage told SEN on Monday afternoon.
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“I think her comments were extremely painful, indicating that she did not believe she was given a safe environment and one where she was supported and felt loved and cared for.”
The video now revolves around the incident, where one of Cambridge’s elbows is seen hitting an opponent – he has deliberately refused to do so.
“I don’t know how you can say that [it wasn’t intentional] When you look at the sight, the sight is visible to everyone, it’s a very, very terrible blow that he hit the Nigerian player, “said Gage.
“I don’t know how you could argue that it was unintentional. If anyone knew anything about basketball they would see that it was a very, very high elbow, and yes he was tall, it was a naughty girl who hit a Nigerian girl in the neck.”
Gage had earlier described Cambridge’s alleged remarks to the Nigerian team as “extremely offensive”, “extremely unfair” and “disgusting”.
The 56-year-old said it was “desperately frustrating” that we would probably never see Cambridge in an opal jersey again given his immense talent.
“Okay, I don’t think in the near future he will play for Australia,” said Gage.
“We have a World Cup coming up here on Australian soil, which should be a marquee event for us to win at least one medal. Make no mistake, we are a long way off with him on the team as a player.
“Based on what has been said, we are far, far better [without her] Because of his language and behavior, there seems to be a conflict. “
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