LAS VEGAS — The WNBA and the Aces have filed motions to dismiss former Las Vegas player Dearica Hamby's federal lawsuit alleging mistreatment during her pregnancy.
Hamby filed the lawsuit about a month ago, alleging the Aces discriminated and retaliated against her, resulting in her January 2023 trade to the Los Angeles Sparks.
The league argued that Hamby does not have standing to sue the WNBA because he does not employ her. The motions to dismiss were filed Wednesday.
The WNBA also disputed her claim that the league failed to properly investigate her allegations. In May 2023, the league suspended Aces coach Becky Hammon for two games without pay and stripped the Aces of their 2025 first-round draft pick for providing impermissible benefits to players involving Hamby.
The WNBA also denied that it failed to extend Hamby’s marketing contract with the league as a form of retaliation. The league pointed to the nine-month lapse between her complaint and the contract expiration as evidence of the lack of causation.
The two-time defending champion Aces argued in the motion that Hamby provided no evidence of retaliation or 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.”
Hamby, a bronze medalist in women's 3-on-3 basketball at this year's Olympics, filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in September 2023 and amended the filing in October.
According to her lawsuit against the WNBA and the Aces, the commission ruled in May that she had “standing to sue.”
“The WNBA is, at its core, a workplace, and federal laws have long protected pregnant women from discrimination in the workplace,” Hamby’s attorneys said in a statement after the lawsuit was filed. “The world champion Aces exiled Dearica Hamby for becoming pregnant, and the WNBA responded with a gentle tap on the wrist. Every potential mother in the league is now aware that childbirth could change their career prospects overnight. That can’t be right in one of the most thriving and dynamic women’s professional sports leagues in America.”
Hammon responded forcefully to a question at the news conference after the Aces defeated the Sparks on Aug. 18, six days after the lawsuit was filed.
“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 no one made a decision to trade her until Atlanta called us in January. [2023]. That's a fact. So… it just didn't happen.”
Hammon said in May 2023 that Hamby was traded to put the club in position to sign likely future Hall of Famer Candace Parker.
Hamby, an All-Star for the third time in four seasons, is averaging career-highs of 16.9 points and 9.2 rebounds this season. She was a two-time WNBA Sixth Player of the Year with the Aces.
The Aces are also under investigation by the WNBA regarding a two-year sponsorship deal offered by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority in which each player receives $25,000 per month and up to $100,000 per season.
