Big problem with Liz Cambage’s furious reaction to Olympic photo controversy

Liz Cambage has never been afraid to speak her mind but the Aussie basketball star is running the risk of falling into an unwanted category.

Radio host and sports commentator Andrew Voss says Liz Cambage risks becoming a “rent-a-quote” after she threatened to boycott the Olympics because of “whitewashed” team photo shoots.

The Australian basketball star complained about the lack of diversity in promotional material ahead of the Tokyo Games, saying there were not enough athletes of colour being represented.

“HOW AM I MEANT TO REPRESENT A COUNTRY THAT DOESN’T EVEN REPRESENT ME #whitewashedaustralia,” she posted on Instagram last week.

“Until I see you doing more @ausolympicteam imma sit this one out.”

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Cambage doubled down in a video where she told Australia to “wake the f*** up”.

“It’s sad, the whitewashing is sad. Your black athletes lead you everywhere. Indigenous athletes are some of the best athletes we have,” she said. “And y’all don’t use them at all.”

On Tuesday Cambage confirmed she wasn’t going through with her boycott, and would be on the plane to Japan with the rest of her Opals teammates.

In a social media post she referred to herself as “such a narcissist” who was “talking my s**t with my big-a*** mouth … making change”.

Former NBA star Andrew Bogut called out Cambage for her “silly” attack and the pair traded barbs on social media.

Cambage and Bogut at an NBL finals launch.

Speaking on his breakfast radio show on 1170 SEN, Voss said Cambage’s headline-making activity was a “cry for attention” and warned her messages could be diluted if she continues to go about protesting things in the same way she did the Olympic photos.

“Totally on Andrew Bogut’s side. Liz has said there she’s an attention seeker,” Voss said.

“If she wanted to be taken seriously she’s now getting past that line where she becomes rent-a-quote, rather than, ‘I’m listening to her seriously to hear her point and her argument made’. That’s where Liz is headed.

“If I was advising Liz I would say, ‘Be very careful, you are just ending up as rent-a-quote and we pull you out for a headline’.

“Liz may have a very strong message to get out there but because of things like this latest one and then the follow-up, people just say she’s not to be taken seriously, she’s just a rent-a-quote, looking to get attention.

“Be very careful where you’re headed, Liz. We will listen, but people might just move on very quickly when you do talk from now on.”

Bogut respects Cambage’s right to share her opinion but he doesn’t agree with it at all, cautioning against “counting” diversity in photos.

“What frustrates me with this is counting the amount of different skin colours in a photo is just poor form,” Bogut said on his podcast, Rogue Bogues. “It’s a pretty slippery slope once you start counting.

“Some of our most prominent people of colour that play for Australia, Patty Mills and Ben Simmons, they’re playing in the best league in the world right now, they can’t even come to that photo shoot. I don’t think Cambage can, she’s probably overseas.

“There’s a lot of different factors that go into it, this is made out like it was a blatant effort to whitewash the photo, to make Australia look white.

“C’mon. Not in today’s day and age, you’d be an idiot if you’re running the AOC to do that, because you’re going to get blow ups.

“I can separate off-court with the on-court, but I just don’t think this helps any situation going into an Olympics.”

Liz Cambage after winning the WNBL Grand Final with the Southside Flyers.

Bogut also suggested Cambage may have had ulterior motives for complaining about the photo shoot for Jockey, after she fronted an underwear campaign for Bonds in 2019.

Cambage hit back at Bogut on Twitter, writing: “Mr Bogut’s obsession with me so strange, it’s been like 10 years of you speaking on my name ... if you want me just say that” with a series of crying and laughing emojis.

Cambage posted a screenshot of her tweet to her Instagram story, with Mariah Carey’s song Obsessed playing over the top.

Bogut then responded with a crack of his own.

Love ya @ecambage ! 😍

Could you please not use all yellow emojis and use a more diverse range of emojis next time.

Thanks! https://t.co/dlnPDETtRn

— Andrew Bogut (@andrewbogut) May 11, 2021

Bogut and Voss aren’t the only ones unimpressed with Cambage’s recent activity. Australian tennis legend Todd Woodbridge also took aim at the 29-year-old.

“My initial thought was, don’t do it that way,” Woodbridge said on the weekend.

“Why do it that way? Why do it with the anger and the threats? You cannot threaten to pull out of representing your country, you’ve got the privilege to be there and to do something special.

“I just believe there was a bit of disrespect for the athletes in the photo, who rightfully deserved to be in that photo.”

Cambage in action for Australia.

Former Opals coach Tom Maher also called out Cambage for the “inappropriate” way she addressed the situation.

“There have been no bad intentions (in posts of the athletes). Was there a homosexual athlete represented? Was there a Chinese Australian athlete mentioned? I mean, where does it end?” Maher said.

“If I was coach, I wouldn’t entertain any threats at all. If she wants to come, she can come, but if she told me she was going to boycott I’d say, ‘Good luck, see you later’.

“She is a great player, but the issues need to be attended to in the right environment. Right now if you are an Olympian, you could make the protest without making the threat.

“That would be a more appropriate way of dealing with it.”