WNBA and Aces file motions to dismiss lawsuit by Sparks’ Dearica Hamby
LAS VEGAS — The WNBA and Las Vegas Aces filed motions to dismiss Sparks star Dearica Hamby’s federal lawsuit that alleges mistreatment over her pregnancy while she was with the Aces.
Hamby filed the suit about a month ago, alleging the Aces discriminated and retaliated against her, resulting in her January 2023 trade to L.A. The Aces argued in the motion filed Wednesday that Hamby failed to provide evidence of retaliation or discrimination.
“Hamby’s Complaint alleges the Aces traded the rights to her contract because she was pregnant and retaliated against her after she created a social media post about the purported pregnancy discrimination,” the club said in its filing. “... Hamby’s false allegations against the Aces fall short of stating a plausible claim for relief.”
The WNBA argued Hamby doesn’t have standing to sue the league because it doesn’t employ her and disputed her claim that it didn’t properly investigate her allegations. The league in May 2023 suspended Aces coach Becky Hammon for two games without pay and docked the Aces their 2025 first-round draft pick for providing impermissible player benefits involving Hamby.
Sparks All-Star forward Dearica Hamby sued the WNBA and her former team in federal court Monday regarding her treatment from the Aces while pregnant.
The WNBA also denied it failed to extend Hamby’s marketing agreement with the league as a form of retaliation. The league pointed to the nine-month gap between her complaint and the contract expiring as evidence of lack of causation.
Hamby filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in September and amended the filing in October. According to her lawsuit, the commission ruled in May she had a “right to sue.”
“The WNBA is, at its core, a workplace, and federal laws have long shielded pregnant women from discrimination on the job,” Hamby’s attorneys said in a statement after the suit was filed. “The world champion Aces exiled Dearica Hamby for becoming pregnant and the WNBA responded with a light tap on the wrist. Every potential mother in the league is now on notice that childbirth could change their career prospects overnight. That can’t be right in one of the most prosperous and dynamic women’s professional sports leagues in America.”
Now in her second season in L.A. after being traded from Las Vegas and giving birth to her second child, Dearica Hamby is off to a fast start for the Sparks.
Hammon responded forcefully to a question in the news conference after the Aces defeated the Sparks on Aug. 18, six days after the lawsuit was filed.
“I’ve been in either the WNBA or the NBA for now 25 years,” Hammon said at the time. “I’ve never had an HR complaint. Never, not once. I still didn’t, actually, because Dearica didn’t file any. She didn’t file with the players’ union, she didn’t file with the WNBA. Those are facts.
“It’s also factual that nobody made a call about trading 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, who was a two-time WNBA sixth player of the year for the Aces, was traded to put the club in position to sign 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 and won a bronze medal in three-on-three women’s basketball in this year’s Olympic Games.
The Aces also are being investigated 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.
Anderson writes for the Associated Press.
