WNBA All-Star Sues League for Discrimination After Trade From Las Vegas Aces Following Pregnancy
Dearica Hamby, a Los Angeles Sparks forward, is seeking answers from the WNBA and her former team, the Las Vegas Aces, regarding serious allegations of discrimination in 2023.
Hamby criticized her trade from the Aces to the Sparks in January 2023, attributing it to her pregnancy.
The three-time WNBA All-Star, champion and recent Olympics medalist said the team and coach Becky Hammon gave her a complete cold shoulder and mistreated the star player after finding out she was pregnant.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MAY 27: Dearica Hamby #5 of the Los Angeles Sparks is shown during the first quarter of a game against the Las Vegas Aces at Michelob ULTRA Arena on May 27, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images)
After over a year of pushing back on the league and Aces, Hamby is taking legal action.
On Monday, Hamby's legal team is suing the WNBA and Aces for discrimination. Dearica Hamby's attorneys, Dana Sniegocki, Erin Norgaard, and Artur Davis of HKM Employment Attorneys, provided the legal filing, which Fox News Digital obtained.
As previously reported on OutKick, Hamby announced her pregnancy after helping shoulder the Aces to a 2022 WNBA championship. She was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks in 2023 and followed up the news with accusations against the Aces and Hammon for changing their outlook on her after announcing her pregnancy.
Hamby agreed to a two-year contract extension with the Aces months before being traded.
Last year, the WNBA investigated the Aces and suspended coach Hammon for two games because she violated the league and team's "Respect in the Workplace" policies.
Hamby's lawsuit Monday called it a ‘slap on the wrist’ from the WNBA against the serious claims of discrimination. The player warns that similar discrimination could dramatically alter similar careers in the WNBA headed for stardom but paused momentarily by motherhood.
READ: Las Vegas Aces Investigated By WNBA Over Allegedly Mistreating, Trading Pregnant Player
"The WNBA is, at its core, a workplace, and federal laws have long shielded pregnant women from discrimination on the job. The world champion Aces exiled Dearica Hamby for becoming pregnant and the WNBA responded with a light tap on the wrist." Hamby’s attorneys wrote in their legal filing.
"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."
READ: Becky Hammon Denies Pregnant Player Dearica Hamby's Claims, 'Disappointed' By WNBA Suspension
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