08-21-2024
Dearica Hamby filed a lawsuit against the WNBA and her former team, the Las Vegas Aces. She asserts the league and the Aces discriminated and retaliated against her because of her pregnancy, resulting in her trade to the Los Angeles Sparks in January 2023.
Hamby had signed a two-year extension contract with the Aces in 2022, binding her to the team through 2024. The team had agreed to pay her daughter's private school tuition and allowed her to live in team-provided housing. Right after signing the contract, Hamby learned she was pregnant with her second child and shared the news. Hamby saw that the Aces treated her differently after learning about her pregnancy. In a phone call with Hammon, the coach challenged Hamby's commitment to the team and said she misled the Aces by signing the contract without disclosing her pregnancy. Hammon allegedly told Hamby that by signing the extension, she implicitly agreed not to get pregnant. Hamby says Hammon traded her soon after those conversations.
Hamby says the trade caused her to lose out on promotional and endorsement opportunities, forced her to relocate to a place with higher taxes, and precluded her from competing with the Aces for back-to-back WNBA championships. The WNBA investigated Hamby's allegations last year but did not interview any of her Aces teammates. The league found the Aces violated league rules "regarding impermissible player benefits." The Aces lost their first-round draft pick for the 2025 season, and Hammon was suspended for two games without pay. Hamby asserts the league should have done more, including rescinding the trade. Hamby also accused the Aces of retaliating against her after she publicly complained about the trade by not inviting her to the team's White House celebration and telling players and staff not to communicate with her.
Aces coach Becky Hammon denied the allegations in 2023 when Hamby first made them. Hammon said the trade made sense because they obtained three new players for her one contract. She denies Hamby's pregnancy played any factor in the decision.