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“If I don’t call out racism, who will?” Liz Cambage

Cambage, 24, has never hidden from speaking her mind. Photo: Getty

Cambage, 24, has never hidden from speaking her mind. Photo: Getty

Australian basketball superstar Liz Cambage says she is still furious about the way Indigenous AFL great Adam Goodes was treated by the public toward the end of his football career.

The outspoken Cambage, who is preparing for the Rio Olympics, expressed her disgust at how Goodes was relentlessly booed by crowds around Australia while he played the game he won two Brownlow Medals and Premierships in.

“We pushed one of Australia’s greatest athletes away from what he loved doing through racism and through discrimination,” Cambage told Fairfax Media in a recent interview.

“I feel like the whole of Australia should be ashamed for what happened with Adam Goodes.

“If you want to try bring someone down for standing up for what they believe in, then you should be ashamed of yourself.

“I feel like the whole of Australia should be ashamed for what happened with Adam Goodes.
Australian Opals' star Liz Cambage

“We have such a diverse and multi-cultural country and such a beautiful country but we don’t show how diverse we are and we also don’t own our history of what happened to indigenous Australians.”

Goodes was plagued so badly by the jeering that he refused a lap of honour at the 2015 AFL Grand Final offered to retiring players.

Goodes, and many Australians, considered the booing to be racially motivated because of his stands against racial discrimination.

But those who jeered him claimed it was motivated by not liking him as a player.

‘If I don’t call out racism who will?’

This kind of defiant stand against racism is nothing new for Cambage. The 24-year-old once publicly called out a teammate for wearing “blackface”.

In February Cambage’s national teammate Alice Kunek wore blackface to a dress up party in a supposed tribute to Kanye West.

Liz Cambage

Cambage vehemently opposes racism. Photo: AAP

Cambage tweeted at the time: “Blackface is disgusting. I honestly have no words.”

“If I don’t call (racism) out, who’s going to do it?”

While many lauded Cambage for her stance, a lot of people sent her vile abuse on social media.

“People are scared to take a stand. If you do take a stand you receive backlash,” Cabbage told Fairfax Media.

“I guess I’m lucky I learned quite young not to really care what people say. I’ve learnt young to take a stand if I feel like something’s wrong.”

More recently Cambage goaded NBA Australian superstar Andrew Bogut on Twitter. Bogut questioned why Australians had held “Black Lives Matters” protests in response to police brutality in the United States.

https://twitter.com/andrewbogut/status/754567103127048192

“It was a rally, not a protest. Educate yourself,” Cambage responded. Later in July, Cambage took another shot at Bogut when he conceded he was wrong to question the protest.

But Bogut wasn’t ready to give up on the feud, referencing the time when Cambage missed a national team training camp to attend a music festival.

liz cambage

Cambage then responded:

https://twitter.com/ecambage/status/757936503683022848

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