AUSTRALIAN opal star Liz Cambage wants the Aboriginal flag to be displayed permanently on their national uniform after their teammates have declared solidarity with them and have campaigned for a race for racial equality.
In a powerful five-minute video, the opals urge Australians to rise up against racial injustices after asking Basketball Australia earlier this month to commit to changing and supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.
Cambage, who marched in recent protests and asked others to take part in marches in Melbourne, revealed an SMS to her teammates that led to a boycott of the training earlier this month when she felt BA hadn’t responded to the move.
But her teammates’ reaction triggered the urge to make real changes, and Cambage said she finally felt she wasn’t the only one in the fight.
“A few weeks ago, on a Wednesday evening, I indicated in group chat that I didn’t feel the best and didn’t feel supported by our organization,” said Cambage on Wednesday.
“Weeks have passed since the protests and little black squares on Instagram, and I haven’t seen anything public from Basketball Australia.
“I dropped the bomb, turned off my phone, and two hours later the girls boycotted the practice in the morning. I think maybe I’ll start rubbing it a little bit.
“I was very moved, very inspired and very emotional, especially regarding our team history. We had race problems, publicly and behind closed doors.
“It means a lot to me that a fight that I’ve had for so long is that people are on the train and pushing forward. It means a lot that other people push this forward. “
Cambage, who has previously spoken about the racial prejudices she has suffered, continues to believe that Australia is a “whitewashed country”. But it is a country that she loves very much and can believe in change.
“I represent my country and I do it with great pride. But our beautiful country has a dark past and I think it is really time to teach the correct history of this country. Until we do this, people cannot respect black life, ”she said.
“I would like to see the aboriginal flag on our uniforms.
“We carry the” ascent “in our hearts and in our heads. If we really want to respect this county, we have to see these flags on our uniform.
“Here in Australia, we’ve kept silent on many issues over the years.
“I banged my head against a wall on many of these questions for years. It’s hard to see everyone at the table now, but I can’t be bitter about it. That is change.
“Change is not easy. It’s inspiring to see how people on the street support change. Growing hurts, but we have to go through it now. It gets better. “
The topic of “ascent” has long been part of the opal values and aims at respect, equality and peace.
Opal captain Jenna O’Hea said the real scope of the problem became clear to her in an “emotional” zoom call between Opal players a month ago, and she realized that it was time to stand with Cambage.
“It got extremely emotional and extremely raw, and I think these conversations are really important because we haven’t had them enough in the past,” she said.
“We have to have these uncomfortable conversations to really make sure that something changes.
“Liz fought for it for a long time and we should have been by her earlier.
“But we are here now, we stand with her and with all the black, indigenous and islanders of Torres Strait who live here and play basketball.
“We want people to feel valued and heard.”
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