Vitriol towards Australian WNBA basketballer Liz Cambage came thick and fast in the wake of her stepping away from the Opals ahead of the Olympics for her mental health.
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It was deja vu from whenever an athlete of colour speaks their mind, goes against the grain, puts their mental health first or misses a penalty. This year it was Naomi Osaka, then it was Ben Simmons, then it was Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho. And then it was Cambage.
However, there is an extra layer of assault attached to female athletes of colour, dealing with misogyny and racism all in one.
The rumour mill was running extra-hard on Friday when news broke of Cambage's conduct during Opals camp in Las Vegas. It led to suggestions she would be expelled from the side days before it headed to Tokyo.
People were quick to jump to conclusions and drag her for causing disruption, without knowledge of the exact details surrounding the allegations.
When a black female athlete causes disruption, they are labelled difficult, outspoken, angry, hard to work with, a handful, controversial. The list goes on.
When a black male athlete does the same he receives similar labels. The same goes for white female athletes.
However, when a white male athlete does it, he is labelled passionate, an advocate, tenacious, groundbreaking or hard-working.
Cambage has shot into the spotlight in the Australian media for her unapologetic nature, courage and advocacy in recent months, something we seem to love to hate when it comes to the 29-year-old.
Following similar lines of what we saw highlighted in the Adam Goodes' documentary, the criticisms fired towards Latrell Mitchell, and the daily experiences of people of colour in Australia.
You are a hero, until you voice an uncomfortable truth. You are celebrated, until white Australia feels threatened and decides you are not.
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Cambage is a top basketballer who was accused of breaching the COVID-19 bubble in the Opals camp - something she has denied - and of a physical altercation in a closed-door match against Nigeria, which she has apologised for. That apology has reportedly been accepted by the Nigerian team.
But in order to understand the obsession and vitriol against Cambage we must go back over the last few months.
It began with her calling out white Australians during the Black Lives Matter rallies for not addressing, or barely scratching the surface, of our own country's racism and dark history.
She was painted as an "angry black woman calling out white people just doing their best", instead of an athlete using her platform to draw attention to the more-than-470 Indigenous deaths in custody since the royal commission, pleading for it to stop and for real action to be taken to address racism in this country.
Next she called out the Australian Olympic Committee and threatened to boycott the games for the under-representation of black and non-white athletes in promotional materials. She shone a light on the importance of representation and the whitewashing of the campaign.
The AOC admitted it needed to do better. However, instead of being labelled an advocate, she was painted with the "difficult" brush for drawing attention to the issue and told to pipe down about the "non-issue". Seemingly ignoring race is not opt-in or opt-out. It's people's reality. Life or death.
Next came a WNBA coach of an opposing side seemingly trying to body shame one of the best players in the league - Cambage.
The Las Vegas Aces player called him out on it and he issued an apology, was fined $10,000 and suspended for a game for his behaviour. Despite the league and the coach agreeing his behaviour was out of line, she was again labelled "difficult" for standing up for herself and calling out the unacceptable and offensive behaviour.
Critics have continued to seek to silence her since news broke of her stepping away from the Opals, coming out of the woodwork querying her mental health claims and labelling her an "unbearable" teammate in another instance, in an attempt to make the "difficult" label stick.
But she continues to stand up for her values and be an advocate for female and black athletes in this country by calling out unacceptable behaviour.
She continues to voice her concerns and is not afraid if those opinions are uncomfortable for the predominantly white, male-orientated Australian sports media landscape to swallow.
The Melburnian stepping away from the Opals is devastating. Australia has lost one of its greatest assets heading into the Games but for all the right reasons. She stepped away to prioritise her mental health. She stepped away because she knows herself so well, and had the courage to prioritise her health and her team's chances over her dreams of Olympic gold.
Cambage holds the WNBA single game-scoring record, was the first female athlete to dunk at an Olympics and is an Olympic bronze medallist.
She is confident, unapologetic, an advocate and is a talented athlete who should be celebrated and supported during this time.