WNBA, Aces file motions to dismiss Dearica Hamby lawsuit

LAS VEGAS – The WNBA and the Aces have filed motions to dismiss former Las Vegas player Dearica Hamby’s federal lawsuit alleging abuse during her pregnancy.

Hamby filed a complaint about a month ago alleging the Aces discriminated against her and retaliated against her, leading to her trade in January 2023 to the Los Angeles Sparks.

The league argued that Hamby lacked standing to sue the WNBA because it did not employ him. The motions to dismiss were filed Wednesday.

The WNBA also disputed her allegations that the league failed to properly investigate her allegations. In May 2023, the league suspended Aces coach Becky Hammon for two games without pay and stripped the Aces of their first-round pick in the 2025 draft for providing impermissible benefits to players involving Hamby.

The WNBA also denied that it failed to extend Hamby’s marketing contract as retaliation. The league pointed to the nine-month gap between her complaint and the contract’s expiration as evidence that there was no causal connection.

The two-time defending champion Aces argued in the motion that Hamby failed to provide evidence of retaliation or discrimination.

“Hamby’s complaint alleges that the Aces traded the rights to her contract because she was pregnant and retaliated against her after she created a social media post about alleged pregnancy discrimination,” the club said in its filing. “… Hamby’s false allegations against the Aces do not constitute a plausible claim for relief.”

Hamby, a bronze medalist in women’s 3X3 basketball at this year’s Olympics, filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in September and amended her filing in October.

According to her lawsuit against the WNBA and the Aces, the commission ruled in May that she had the “right to sue.”

“The WNBA is first and foremost a workplace, and federal law has long protected pregnant women from workplace discrimination,” Hamby’s attorneys said in a statement after the lawsuit was filed. “The world champion Aces exiled Dearica Hamby because she was pregnant, and the WNBA responded with a slap on the wrist. Every potential mother in the league is now on notice that the birth of a child could change their career prospects overnight. That cannot be the case in one of the most successful and dynamic women’s professional sports leagues in America.”

Hammon answered a question forcefully at the news conference after the Aces’ win over the Sparks on Aug. 18, six days after the lawsuit was filed.

“I’ve been playing in the WNBA or the NBA for 25 years now,” Hammon said at the time. “I’ve never had an HR complaint. Never, not once. I still haven’t had one, actually, because Dearica hasn’t filed one. She hasn’t filed a complaint with the players union, she hasn’t filed a complaint with the WNBA. Those are facts.”

“It’s also true that no one bothered to trade him before Atlanta called us in January (2023). That’s a fact. So… it just didn’t happen.”

Hammon said in May 2023 that Hamby was traded to put the club in position to sign Candace Parker, who could likely be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Hamby, who was selected to the All-Star Game for the third time in four seasons, is averaging career-highs of 16.9 points and 9.2 rebounds this season. She was twice named the WNBA’s Sixth Player of the Year for the Aces.

The Aces are also under investigation by the WNBA over 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.

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WNBA AP: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball