Last month, Los Angeles Sparks star Dearica Hamby took legal action against the WNBA and the franchise with which she spent most of her professional basketball career, the Las Vegas Aces.
Hamby, who was drafted in the first round by the San Antonio Stars, filed paperwork with the U.S. District Court of Nevada on Aug. 12. The Stars moved to Las Vegas for the 2018 season and changed their name to The Aces.
The complaint alleges that the three times WNBA star Hamby faced “repeated acts of intimidation, discrimination and retaliation” before and after her trade to the Sparks in 2023. Hamby was pregnant at the time. Nearly a month later, the WNBA and the Aces filed motions to dismiss Hamby’s federal lawsuit.
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LA Sparks forward Dearica Hamby (5) is introduced before a game against the New York Liberty at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on August 28, 2024. (Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports)
The league argued that Hamby does not have standing to sue the WNBA because he does not employ her.
An investigation into Hamby’s discrimination allegations was launched in 2023. Aces coach Becky Hammon received a two-game suspension as a result of the investigation. The franchise also lost a first-round draft pick. But Hamby’s attorneys argued that the league’s response to the situation was inadequate.
“The WNBA is, at its core, a workplace, and federal laws have long protected pregnant women from workplace discrimination. The world champion Aces exiled Dearica Hamby for becoming pregnant, and the WNBA responded with a quick tap on the wrist,” Dana Sniegocki, Erin Norgaard and Artur Davis of HKM Employment Attorneys said in a statement released after the lawsuit was filed.
Dearica Hamby of the Los Angeles Sparks prepares to shoot a free throw against the New York Liberty on June 20, 2024 in Brooklyn, NY (Catalina Fragoso/NBAE via Getty Images)
However, the WNBA is now disputing Hamby’s claim that the league failed to properly investigate her allegations. The league also denied that it failed to extend Hamby’s merchandising agreement with the WNBA as a form of retaliation. The league pointed to the nine-month gap between her complaint and the contract expiration as evidence of the lack of causation.
Meanwhile, the Aces claimed in the motion that Hamby provided no evidence of retaliation or discrimination.
WNBA CHAMPION DEARICA HAMBY FILES FEDERAL LAWSUIT AGAINST LEAGUE AND ACES ALLEGING DISCRIMINATION
“Hamby's lawsuit alleges that the Aces negotiated her contract rights because she was pregnant and retaliated against her after she created a social media post about alleged pregnancy discrimination,” the club said in its filing. “Hamby's false allegations against the Aces fall short of raising a plausible claim for relief.”
Dearica Hamby of the Las Vegas Aces poses for a photo with the trophy after Game 4 of the 2022 WNBA Finals on September 18, 2022 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. (Chris Marion/NBAE via Getty Images)
Hammon addressed the lawsuit on Aug. 18 during a press conference following the Aces' win over the Sparks.
“I've been in the WNBA or the NBA for 25 years,” Hammon said at the time. “I've never had an HR complaint. Never, not once. In fact, I still haven't, because Dearica didn't file one. She didn't file a complaint with the players' union. She didn't file a complaint with the WNBA. Those are the facts.
“It's also a fact that nobody made the decision to trade her until Atlanta called us in January (of 2023). That's a fact. So… it just didn't happen.”
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Hamby is a two-time WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year and was a member of the Aces' 2022 WNBA championship team.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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