LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – A former Las Vegas Aces player is alleging discrimination by the team and the WNBA after she was traded following her pregnancy announcement.
Dearica Hamby, who now plays for the Los Angeles Sparks, filed the lawsuit Monday in the U.S. District Court of Nevada alleging employment discrimination, stemming from the 2023 trade from the Aces to the Sparks.
Hamby alleged that the Aces were eager to keep her in June 2022, when negotiating a new contract. The team allegedly offered Hamby team-provided housing and covering tuition costs for her daughter.
According to the lawsuit, Hamby had told the team about her pregnancy in August of 2022 and announced the pregnancy Sept. 20, 2022, right after the Aces won their first WNBA Championship. She alleges that the team didn’t pay the tuition and she was forced to vacate team housing. Hamby alleged that Becky Hammon, the team’s coach, had “bullied” her and questioned her commitment to the Aces.
Hamby alleges that when she was traded to the Sparks, she asked “You’re trading me because I’m pregnant?” and Hammon allegedly responded, “What do you want me to do?”
Hamby was officially traded to the Sparks on Jan. 21, 2023.
The WNBA investigated Hamby’s initial complaints and suspended Hammon for two games along with stripping a future first-round draft pick.
“Every potential mother in the league is now on notice that childbirth could change their career prospects overnight,” Hamby’s lawyers said in a news release. “That can’t be right in one of the most prosperous and dynamic women’s professional sports leagues in America.”
FOX5 has reached out to the WNBA and the Aces for response to the lawsuit.
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