July 20, (THEWILL) – An appeal against the decision of basketball governing body, FIBA, to deny a pair of American basketballers Nneka Ogwumike and Elizabeth Williams to be allowed to represent Nigeria by joining the Olympic squad of D’Tigress, made to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) has been rejected.
As THEWILL reported, Ogwumike and Williams approached CAS to grant them a provisional allowance that will enable them link up with D’Tigress for the Tokyo Games until a hearing could occur as the Games are imminent and they have to be in the squad in time for their events.
Their appeal was necessitated because of an earlier FIBA denial of their appeal to play for their Nigerian senior women’s basketball team as they played for the U.S. national program for too long and were therefore ineligible to switch nationalities.
The basketball body welcomed CAS rejection with a response on their website that stated: “FIBA acknowledges today’s decision of the Court Arbitration of Sport (CAS) to reject the request for provisional measures.”
Sticking with the initial denial by FIBA, Nigeria did not include the names of the duo in the official roster submitted for the Tokyo Games but Nigeria’s coach, Otis Hughley Jr., believed it was for the best to allow Williams and Ogwumike join D’Tigress.
After the Nigerian team lost to Team USA in an exhibition match on Sunday where Williams played and the Ogwumike sisters were on the bench, the coach put out a passionate plea that they are allowed to compete with the rest of D’Tigress squad.
Hughley said: “Allow them the opportunity to help grow the game. That continent would just be turned on its head for basketball, in a good way. You have no idea how many lives would be impacted and changed for the ages.”
The coach then made a strong claim that has serious implications if founded on evidence. Hughley said he was concerned that the reason for the denials by FIBA came from other countries that think they have a chance to win a medal and do not want a strong Nigerian team to deny them that chance.
Hughley alleged: “They didn’t anticipate us being in that position. So, there’s some things going on that nobody sees and nobody talks about. It gets in the way of integrity. It’s gonna catch up with whoever’s doing that. It’s just dead wrong. I know FIBA is better than that. I’ve been part of them a long time; it’s a great organization.”
As THEWILL reported earlier Ogwumike and her sisters have dual citizenship with the United States and Nigeria. After being left out of the US roster, they believed they should be eligible to represent Nigeria in Japan since their parents, Peter and Ify, were both born in Nigeria and came to the United States before their daughters were born.
Although Chiney Ogwumike was granted the ability to play with Nigeria as a naturalised player, CAS also denied her appeal to have that changed to give her status as a Nigerian, the same as her sister Erica, who is already on the nation’s roster.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
