Just because Liz Cambage was unable to make it to the Florida wubble for the 2020 WNBA season does not mean her plate has not been full during this year of Mr. Covid.
She has stayed in training mode if you follow her Instagram, she has rallied at Black Lives Matter protests in Australia and announced she would be returning to the WNBL with the Southside Flyers.
Her latest boss move may be one of her strongest yet.
Cambage is no stranger to photoshoots showcasing body positivity and encouraging women to love their bodies. She has posed for Bonds – an Australian clothing brand – as well as for the 2019 ESPN Body Issue.
Playboy, though, is an entirely different animal … or should we say, bunny?
And while it may be tempting to only take a glance at the Cambage Playboy piece for the looks (they are everything, of course), she chatted with the magazine about a number of relevant topics – including her career, dating life, the Black Lives Matter movement and loving her body.
It’s interesting how people perceive nudity as a sexual thing, whereas I’ve grown up in a country (where nudity is normalized) and been raised in locker rooms. I’m very comfortable going to the lake or going to the beach and swimming naked with friends and it not being looked at as a sexual thing. But here in America I feel like the human body is just so over-sexualized.
–Liz Cambage (Playboy)
The feedback I got when I did the Body Issue was very interesting. People saw it as a very sexual thing, but to me, my body is powerful. We bring life into this world with our bodies. Yet, we cover them up, when we’re such powerful beings. I’m so proud of my six-foot-eight body and everything I can do with it.
–Liz Cambage (Playboy)
— Elizabeth Cambage (@ecambage) September 30, 2020
In the same token as Skylar Diggins-Smith, who herself has said she is not afraid of being a beast on the court and a beauty away from basketball, Cambage too has that same demeanor which has come with self-love.
As a female athlete, I feel like I’m not allowed to be sexy and I’m not allowed to be that person. All society wants from me is to sit down, shut up, go to training and play my sport.
–Liz Cambage (Playboy)
One conversation that everyone knows happens within WNBA circles, but has somewhat raised eyebrows, is if the W (and women’s sports in general) should take advantage of the sex appeal that some athletes exude. Many of our faves in the W – including Skylar Diggins-Smith, Brittney Griner, Nneka Ogwumike, Candace Parker, Isabelle Harrison, Betnijah Laney, Monique Billings, Lexie Brown, Cheyenne Parker, Kalani Brown, Imani McGee-Stafford and countless others have done modeling work.
Said Cambage to Playboy – if it draws more eyeballs to the WNBA, then she believes it is a win, but do not judge a book by its cover.
If that’s what catches your eye and you start watching the WNBA because you thought I was cute, that’s something I’m going to use. But I work my ass off every day. I’m not just here because I’m a pretty girl. At the end of the day, my looks are not going to save me.
–Liz Cambage (Playboy)
When she has not been training, or practicing her DJ’ing skills, Cambage has been active as an unapologetic Black Lives Matter believer. Her at that Melbourne rally was a viral moment, an indication of how the movement has become an international phenomenon.
Without my mom, without my grandmother, there is no me. They are my whole life. But I was raised white by my mom and my nana in a very whitewashed country. It was difficult for me to grow up. I’ve been bullied and teased ever since I can remember, and I’ve always been an easy target. So I’m resilient to it.
–Liz Cambage (Playboy)
This season, both the WNBA and its big-brother league, the NBA have dedicated this season to raising awareness of the Black Lives Matter message. NBA players have worn social justice messages on the back of their jerseys and WNBA players have featured the name of Breonna Taylor, the Black first responder killed by Louisville police, on the back of its.
“Black Lives Matter” was also featured on both the WNBA courts at the IMG wubble in Bradenton and the NBA’s bubble at Disney World.
She says that what both leagues have done has been “amazing,” but that the push for greater social equality continues even after wubble/bubble life concludes.
We’re all using our platform for good right now. It comes from years and years of athletes being told to shut up and just play their sport and be grateful for what they have.
–Liz Cambage (Playboy)
But what’s the point of being happy with what you have when it’s not good enough? We need to keep pushing for change. We need more diversity. We need to be making more money. You shouldn’t stop and be happy with what you have. That’s how people get lazy. To have a platform like we do and do nothing is a crime in itself.
–Liz Cambage (Playboy)
She also wants everyone to know that when they see her, she may be one of the most well-known basketball players on the planet in addition to being a DJ and an entrepreneur – but do not forget what she is above everything else – a Black woman.
I love that I never had to pay for a fake tan. I love that I’ve been kissed by the gods to have this beautiful skin. Meanwhile people spend thousands of dollars on tans and injections and things like that. I’m happy that I’m blessed to be born the way I am.
–Liz Cambage (Playboy)
