Derek Fisher says Sparks already investigated Liz Cambage racist slur accusations

Sparks general manager and coach Derek Fisher and forward Nneka Ogwumike said Sunday that Liz Cambage remains a welcomed member of the team in the wake of allegations she referred to Nigerian national team players as “monkeys” and demanded that they “go back to their third-world country” ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

Australian and Nigerian national team players accused Cambage of making the comments during a five-minute outburst during a pre-Olympic workout in Las Vegas, according to a report by the Daily Telegraph. The publication granted anonymity to the players quoted. The Telegraph also posted a video clip of the workout during which Cambage elbows a Nigerian player in the face.

Fisher said the Sparks “don’t really respond as much to rumors and allegations” and the matter was investigated by the teams involved, but he added the Los Angeles franchise evaluated what it meant to acquire Cambage during the offseason.

“For us, we had some conversations internally — [with] ownership, with some of our players, management. Made the decision that Liz would be a welcome part of our team and that’s the way we’re looking at that at the moment,” Fisher said before the Sparks earned an 85-83 win over Minnesota. “If there are things that I guess continue to trend or come out that are confirmed at a later date, we’ll address that at that time in terms of how we feel about it. But right now, it’s something that in our opinion is pretty much complete, it’s just folks bringing it back up and expressing how they feel about it.

“But at this point, we don’t have much else to comment on, other than it was investigated, looked into and all we can do right now is focus on tonight and how we’re going to handle things moving forward. And if there are things to address to speak to at a different time, we’ll definitely do so.”

Ogwumike, who is Nigerian and unsuccessfully petitioned to join the Nigerian national team for the Tokyo Olympics, questioned the timing of the report.

“We got past it. So whatever agenda is happening with it resurfacing, that’s other people’s business,” she said after the Sparks’ win Sunday. “And quite frankly, we talked about it before she came to the team and granted, people have their own accounts of what happened, but we addressed it and we talked about how important it is for us to be together, be transparent and also empower giving people second chances.

“She could probably have more to say to her side of the story, but as a team, we talked about it and addressed it and anything else is really not anyone else’s business unless Liz comes out and says what she wants to say. That’s kind of all I have to say about that.”

Sparks teammate Chennedy Carter interjected: “And we have Liz’s back.”

Players interviewed by the Telegraph described Cambage as combative throughout Olympic training camp, with the altercation the last straw. Cambage is of Nigerian and Australian heritage, which Nigerian players said made her remarks especially confounding.

Cambage withdrew from the Olympics, citing concerns about living in the Tokyo Olympic bubble without friends or family because of COVID-19 precautions. She reportedly apologized to Nigerian and Australian players, but they reportedly chose to speak with the Telegraph after Cambage characterized the Sparks as a more supportive team and told ABC she never felt her Australian teammates wanted her “to be the best I can be.”

Fisher said Cambage will decide how she chooses to respond to the report.

“I just try and mention to her and our group as well that some of this, it comes with the responsibility of being who we are and there’s a high bar that’s been set and you have to carry,” he said. “You can’t control what other people say about you and a lot of what this year is about, I think, for our team and for Liz is you have to just show people who you are as time goes on and not control any narrative or any assumptions or allegations that people make about you from what you did or didn’t do in the past.”