WNBA star Dearica Hamby sued her former team in federal court on Monday, claiming the Las Vegas Aces discriminated against her after she revealed she was pregnant.
The three-time All Star and Olympian also named the league as a defendant in the lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Nevada, alleging that WNBA officials failed to meaningfully punish the team after investigating Hamby’s allegations last year, a copy of the complaint. .
Neither the Aces nor the WNBA responded to requests for comment Monday night. An email request for comment sent to an address listed on the website of Aces head coach Becky Hammon — who is named in the lawsuit but not listed as a defendant — was not immediately returned Monday night.
Hamby, 30, now a forward for the Los Angeles Sparks, said she alerted the Aces team to her pregnancy in August 2022, days after learning she was pregnant with her son, Legend, and in the weeks after signing a 2-extension contract. of a one-year contract with the team, according to the complaint.
After publicly announcing the pregnancy during a championship parade in September, the lawsuit alleges that team officials began treating Hamby differently, including failing to pay her daughter’s school fees and instructing her to leave housing provided by the team without explanation.
The team agreed to provide both as part of its contract extension, the suit says.
In a conversation the following January with Aces coach Becky Hammon, the lawsuit alleges that the coach questioned Hamby’s commitment to the team. Hammon allegedly accused Hamby of signing the extension when she knew she was pregnant — an allegation the lawsuit says is false — and of failing to take proper precautions to avoid becoming pregnant.
“Hammon further stated that the Las Vegas Aces ‘needed bodies’ and that Hamby would not be ready to play in time for the start of the next season,” the suit says, alleging that Hamby assured the coach that she would give birth in the off-season. and be ready to play in the preseason in April.
The next day, Jan. 16, the coach told Hamby that his time with the team was over, the lawsuit says. Five days later, the Aces announced that Hamby had been traded to the Sparks.
The lawsuit, which does not specify damages and seeks a jury trial, also accused the Aces of retaliation. The team improperly attempted to obtain Hamby’s medical records, the suit says, and refused to extend a White House invitation to her after she helped the team win its first WNBA championship.
After Hamby spoke out on social media on January 21 last year Regarding some of the allegations included in her complaint, the WNBA said it had launched an investigation into her allegations.
On May 16 of that year, the league released a statement saying the Aces had violated league rules regarding Hamby’s contract. The WNBA rescinded the team’s 2024 first-round draft pick and suspended Hammon for two games without pay, according to the complaint.
According to the lawsuit, the league took no action to address what the complaint describes as a “clear” violation of federal and state anti-discrimination law.
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