Sparks Star Liz Cambage to Leave Team

Los Angeles agreed to terminate the center’s contract.

The Los Angeles Sparks announced Tuesday that they’ve agreed to part ways with star center Liz Cambage. 

“It is with support that we share Liz Cambage’s decision to terminate her contract with the organization,” Sparks managing partner Eric Holoman said in a news release. “We want what’s best for Liz and have agreed to part ways amicably. The Sparks remain excited about our core group and are focused on our run towards a 2022 playoff berth.”

Cambage, 30, signed with Los Angeles on Feb. 15 as a free agent and was averaging 13.0 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 25 games for the team so far this season. This is just the most recent story line for the four-time All Star after she allegedly used a racial slur during a heated scrimmage with Nigeria prior to the 2021 Tokyo Olympics while playing for the Australian national team. 

According to a May investigation conducted by The Daily Telegraph, Cambage, 30, was seen on camera participating in a scuffle with members of the Nigerian national team after the Australian center elbowed one opponent in the head and slapped another in the face in a closed-door practice. During the ensuing fight, Cambage reportedly called the Nigerian players “monkeys” and told them to “go back to your third-world country,” per testimony given by anonymous Nigerian players present at the scene.

Cambage, whose father is Nigerian, denied the report in May. In June, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the Australian team had yet to send all the information needed for any further investigating, and the league has handed down no punishment.