‘Go back to your third world country’: Explosive claim about Liz Cambage’s Opals split

A former Opals captain has revealed exactly what was said during their Olympics training camp that sparked Liz Cambage’s bitter exit.

Former Opals captain Jenna O’Hea says Liz Cambage will never play for Australia again and confirmed the taunt uttered during a pre-Olympics scrimmage that sparked her bitter split from the national team.

Cambage missed Australia’s 2021 Olympic campaign in Tokyo, pulling out of the squad citing mental health reasons following alleged incidents during a training camp — including a blow-up with Nigeria during practice and allegations of breaking the team’s bio-secure bubble in Las Vegas.

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An investigation by Basketball Australia saw Cambage issued with a formal reprimand and the Opals never recovered from her late withdrawal, as they bombed out of the Olympics in the quarter-finals.

Last week Cambage, who is playing her first season with the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA, hit out at the Opals, telling the ABC she “never” felt supported and protected while in the national team.

Asked to respond to those claims while appearing on ABC’s Offsiders program on Sunday, O’Hea said: “I can hold my head up high and say that I always loved her, always cared for her, always supported her, always had her back.

“I think that is her reality and I think listeners and watchers out there can believe who

they want to believe.

“But I can hold my head up high.”

Liz Cambage with Opals coach Sandy Brondello before things turned sour.

Offsiders host Kellie Underwood then spoke about the incident with Nigeria, asking for confirmation from O’Hea about what actually happened.

Underwood: “It’s never really emerged what happened but I’ve had it confirmed from a few sources. Is it correct that you were playing Nigeria and Liz Cambage had her feathers ruffled and she turned to them and said, ‘Go back to your third world country’?

“Of course, (Australian basketballer) Ezi Magbegor is originally Nigerian, a Nigerian who’s now living in Australia and playing for your team. And as a result there was a brawl that erupted, and since then you haven’t spoken to her?”

O’Hea: “That is all 100 per cent correct.”

Caroline Wilson: “Will she ever play for Australia again do you think?”

O’Hea: “No.”

Elaborating on the situation with Cambage, O’Hea added: “I really want the media to focus on those players who want to be Opals and who want to represent Australia and who are really dedicated to Australia and I think that’s really important.

“Everyone has done more than enough (to try and keep Cambage playing for Australia). We have sacrificed a lot to try and keep her in the program. You know, she doesn’t want to be here anymore and that’s her choice and we need to move on without her.”

In July last year, Cambage called out “lies” that had surrounded her Olympic withdrawal, saying she was at “breaking point” with her mental health before deciding to pull the pin.

“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,” she said in an Instagram video at the time.

“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.”

Cambage and Jenna O'Hea in happier times.

O’Hea said earlier this month she is still yet to move on fully from the drama surrounding Cambage and the devastating impact it had on the Opals at last year’s Olympics.

“That was huge and everything that surrounded it was really big,” O’Hea told SEN’s This Is Your Journey.

“To be honest, I saw a sports psych for months afterwards trying to deal with it all and I do think that that’s part of the reason why I have retired.

“It took a huge toll on me and was really difficult … I don’t think I’ll ever fully process it to be honest.

“It’s still pretty raw. I don’t talk about it very often unless it’s with my sports psych. If you asked me a couple of months ago, I would have been in a ball of tears.

“It’s going to take time for me. Everyone heals at a different rate and gets over things in a different way, so that’s something I’m still dealing with today.

“I think it’s going to take a lot more time.”