Los Angeles Sparks star Dearica Hamby faced a chorus of boos from Aces fans upon her return to Las Vegas on Sunday. Meanwhile, her former coach, Becky Hammon, faced a barrage of questions about Hamby’s lawsuit against her old team.
Attorneys representing Hamby sued the WNBA and the Aces in federal court last week, alleging the club retaliated against her for becoming pregnant in 2022 and then trading her in January 2023. Hamby accuses the WNBA of failing to properly investigate her claims against the Aces.
Hammon denied Hamby’s claims following the Aces’ 87-71 win over the Sparks on Sunday in Las Vegas, where Hamby scored 13 points and grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.
“I’ve been in the WNBA or the NBA for 25 years,” Hammon said. “I’ve never had a complaint with HR. Never, not once. I still haven’t had one, actually, 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 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.”
Coach Becky Hammon of the Las Vegas Aces and Dearica Hamby of the Los Angeles Sparks
Aces coach Becky Hammon has denied Hamby’s allegations since May 2023
The former WNBA player and former assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs also rejected Hamby’s claim that Hammon intimidated her with questions about Hamby’s commitment to the team.
“Sorry, the bullying?” Hammon said Sunday. “I talked to her every day. If she wanted to practice, she practiced. If she didn’t want to, she didn’t. Over-concern, really. Over-concern.”
Hammon has denied Hamby’s claims since they first surfaced in May 2023, saying the former first-round pick was traded for strategic reasons.
The move allowed the Aces to sign future Hall of Famer Candace Parker, who helped Vegas win its second title in as many years.
“We decided to move Hamby because we could sign three players with one contract, and we wanted to sign three more players,” Hammon said in 2023. “I think it’s very clear (with) who we signed and why we took this step.”
Hamby announced during the 2022 title parade that she was expecting her second child
Hamby’s daughter Amaya joined her in the bubble during the Covid-affected 2020 season
Hamby says she was traded by the Aces because they were afraid she would get pregnant again
The WNBA investigated Hamby’s claims and even suspended Hamby for two games in May 2023. Additionally, the Aces were stripped of their 2025 first-round pick for providing impermissible player benefits.
Hamby says the league has failed to properly address the issue and filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in September, accusing the WNBA of discrimination. The EEOC has since ruled that she has standing to sue, which she did earlier this month.
Hamby claimed on social media in January that she was “traumatized” by the “unprofessional and unethical manner” in which she was treated after announcing her pregnancy and subsequent transfer to the Sparks.
Hamby specifically said the Aces traded her because they were afraid she would “get pregnant again.”
“Getting traded is part of the job,” Hamby said on Instagram hours after being sent to the Sparks in January.
‘Being lied to, bullied, manipulated and discriminated against is not that.’