Last week, Australian basketball star Liz Cambage sparked a debate among the sporting community following heated comments that pointed out the lack of diversity in promotional photos released ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games. Cambage has once again made headlines following a recent basketball game, in which the coach of the competing team made disrespectful and shameful comments about her weight.
Head coach of the Connecticut Sun’s, Curt Miller, was fined $10,000 and suspended for one game by the WNBA following the comments made against Cambage, who plays for the Las Vegas Aces, according to The Guardian.
Taking to Instagram following the game, the 29-year-old athlete was quick to call out the coach for his words.
“If there’s one thing about me, it’s that I will never let a man disrespect me. Ever. Ever. Ever,” she said. “To the coach of Connecticut, I’m sorry little sir man I do not know your name, but the next time you try to call out a referee trying to get a call being like, ‘Come on, she 300 pounds,’ I’m going to need you to get it right, baby, because I’m 6-8, I’m weighing, I just double-checked because I love to be correct and give facts, I’m weighing 235 pounds and I’m really, very proud of being a big b*tch, a big buddy, big Benz baby. So, don’t ever try to disrespect me or another woman in the league.”
Cambage is one of Australia’s most successful sporting exports. The athlete won bronze for Australia with the Opals at the 2012 London Olympic Games and is a three-time WNBA All-Star, who still currently holds the WNBA single-game scoring record.
Miller later confirmed he had made such comments, issuing an apology to Cambage for what was said in the “heat of the moment.”
“During last night’s game, while arguing a call with an official, I made an inappropriate and offensive comment in reference to Liz Cambage’s height and weight,” Miller said in a statement, per The Sydney Morning Herald. “I regret what I said in the heat of the moment and want to sincerely apologize to Liz and the entire Aces organization. I understand the gravity of my words and have learned from this.”
It should go without saying, providing unwarranted (and often unwelcome) commentary on another person’s body is never okay—no matter the circumstance—and it’s powerful to see women like Cambage standing up and changing the narrative.
