Report: Ogwumikes, Williams Appeal to CAS as Olympics Deadline Approaches

Nneka, Chiney Ogwumike and Elizabeth Williams filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport about FIBA's ruling on their applications to play for Nigeria.

Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike and Elizabeth Williams filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Friday, asking it to rule on FIBA's decision on their statuses to compete for the Nigerian national team in the Tokyo Olympics, according to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne.

The organization reportedly denied Nneka and Williams's applications to play for their native country while Chiney's was approved as a naturalized player—only one is allowed per roster—according to ESPN. Meanwhile, the third sister, Erica Ogwumike, is fully cleared.

FIBA's reason for denying Nneka was due to her "substantial involvement" with Team USA for more than a decade, according to ESPN's Shelburne and Mechelle Voepel.

This move comes just a day after the trio reportedly filed an appeal with the FIBA, challenging its ruling on their applications to play for Nigeria in the Tokyo Olympics. It focused on Article 3-22 of the FIBA Internal Regulations, arguing that the secretary general should have considered whether their involvement would be "in the interest of the development of basketball" in the country. The appeal highlighted that the three have been Nigerian citizens since birth "by virtue of being born to Nigerian citizens while abroad."

The final roster for the Games is due by Sunday, and the trio asked the Court of Arbitration for Sport to allow them to compete for Nigeria on a provisional basis until FIBA is able to respond to the original appeal. The filing asked the court to rule by July 26—the day before Nigeria's first game in the Summer Games.