The Australian basketball Association and Basketball Australia strongly deny claims that a player or players allegedly made racist comments to members of the Philippines national side during a World Cup qualifying match which resulted in a brawl.
“Australian basketball prides itself on being a diverse sport that embraces all sections of the community. We take these allegations against our players extremely seriously and are deeply disappointed the ABC should chose to publish them," said Basketball Australia Chief Executive Anthony Moore in a statement.
A photojournalist who was covering the match told the ABC during a radio interview that he allegedly heard abuse from the Australian team but he couldn't say which player or players were responsible.
"I couldn't hear exactly who said it, but I did hear it, and like I said when the Boomers were up by 30 points I don't think words like that should be thrown around," Winston Baltasar, a well-known sports photographer in the Philippines said when pressed on who made the comments.
Mr Moore and former Boomer Jacob Holmes also said in the joint statement that the organisation had contacted the ABC to raise concerns over the publication of the claims.
“The allegations made by Mr Baltasar are unsubstantiated and highly defamatory and we are reviewing our legal avenues to address them," he said.
“The Boomers pride themselves on their inclusive and diverse composition, just like the country they represent and the comments made by Mr Baltasar and republished by the ABC have caused immense distress to our players.”
Meanwhile, the national basketball associations for Australia and the Philippines recently issued a joint apology for the brawl.
Philippines players and officials are expected to receive the most severe penalties but Australian players Daniel Kickert and Thon Maker could also face sanctions over the incident.
SBS News has contacted Mr Baltasar.
