The basketball player Dearica Hamby sued the WNBA and the Las Vegas Aces on Monday, accusing the league and the team of discrimination when she became pregnant..
The now Los Angeles Sparks player filed this case in a federal court in Nevada (USA).
Hamby, who won bronze with the USA in 3×3 basketball at Paris 2024, began her WNBA career in 2015 with the San Antonio Stars, who would later move to Las Vegas and become the Aces.
She was part of the Las Vegas team that, under the command of Becky Hammon, was declared the WNBA champion in 2022.
The text of the complaint explains that in June 2022 the player and the team agreed to extend his contract for two years.
In addition, Aces promised him “certain additional benefits and incentives” such as the possibility of living in the accommodation provided by the franchise or payment of tuition at the private school of his daughter Amaya.
In July of the same year, Hamby found out she was pregnant with her second child and in August she told the team.
“After her pregnancy was made public (in September 2022), Hamby experienced noticeable changes in the way he was treated by the Las Vegas Aces staff.” the lawsuit said.
In this sense, he mentioned that his daughter’s tuition was not paid and asked her to leave the residence provided by the franchise.
In January 2023, and always according to Hamby’s story, the player spoke on the phone with Hammon, who asked him if he planned the pregnancy and told him that he did not take “appropriate precautions” to avoid this.
Hamby also stands firm Hammon accused her of signing her renewal because he knew she was pregnant and he questioned his “commitment and dedication” to the team.
Days later, her move to the Sparks was announced and Hamby accused the Aces on social media of discriminating against her because of her pregnancy.
This led to an investigation by the WNBA, which ended in May 2023 with a two-game suspension for Hammon “for a violation of workplace respect rules” and the withdrawal of the Aces’ 2025 first-round pick. draft.
It seems that this resolution was not enough for Hamby that is why he took the step of filing this case.
Hammon denied the accusations at the time and maintained that the pregnancy was not a “problem” or the reason for the move.
“We made the decision to transfer Hamby because we could get three players instead of his contract and we wanted to have three more players,” he said, highlighting that with that move the Aces were able to sign a WNBA star like Candace Parker.
Source: La Verdad
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