All balling fans were shocked when the Los Angeles Sparks player Dearica Hamby filed a lawsuit against her former team Las Vegas Aces and the coach Becky Hammon in October last year. In September she made an EEOC complaint that looked into discrimination in the workplace due to gender, race, etc. And now Hamby has once again come forward with a lawsuit in the federal court in Nevada against the league and the Aces.
Dearica Hamby prelude
As per Hamby, she has played an “integral role” in helping the Aces clinch their first Championship title in 2022. She worked hard for her achievements and plied her trade for the team in question from 2018-2022. During the year she clinched the championship, Hamby averaged a decent 9.3 points per game with 7.1 rebounds per game. Thus as per Hamby, she has been instrumental in Aces’ success.
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Following her bright performance in June 28, 2022, as per Hamby’s lawyers she signed on for two years with the Aces with her contract extending to May 2025. Plus Hamby alleges that the Aces also wanted to give the tuition fees for her daughter Amaya, which further attracted Hamby to the new contract.
However, just three weeks later, the team first came to know that Hamby was pregnant with her second child and this as per Hamby didn’t go down well with them. Becky Hammon as per Hamby then accused her of signing the contract extension despite being pregnant. She further stated in October last year that the team “began to retaliate against me and caused the work environment to become unreasonably abusive and hostile.”
Dearica Hamby case issues
In January, Hamby was also traded to the Los Angeles Sparks. The WNBA then in 2023, suspended Hammon for two games and also caused them a loss of the future draft pick. But according to Hammon, these allegations are false since they tarded Hamby to the Sparks keeping the best intentions of the team in mind.
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Do you think Becky Hammon's reputation can survive these serious allegations from Dearica Hamby?
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As per Hammon “pregnancy wasn’t a problem.” They instead decided to trade Hamby so that they could get three players within her contract. And hence it was just pure business for the Aces. She further exclaimed that Hamby was taking it all the negative way. “Nothing personal. I had a great relationship with Hamby the whole time. Which is why she probably felt the way she did,” Hammon stated. She further expounded that it was part of her business.
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As per Hamby’s lawyer “the Aces exiled Dearica Hamby for becoming pregnant and the WNBA responded with a tight tap on the wrist.” Therefore when Hamby got the “Notice of Right to Sue” in May 2024 she was determined to file a lawsuit which she has done. Whether Hamby is truthful or Hammon just traded her for money is still not clear.
But what is transparent is that the Aces lost a skilled player who averages a whopping 19.4 points per game with 10 rebounds per game in this WNBA. And hopefully, Hamby will continue to show her best in the WNBA league.
Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.
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Do you think Becky Hammon's reputation can survive these serious allegations from Dearica Hamby?