WNBA and Aces file motions to dismiss Dearica Hamby’s lawsuit

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The WNBA and Aces have filed motions to dismiss former Las Vegas player Dearica Hamby’s federal lawsuit that alleges mistreatment over her pregnancy.

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

The league argued Hamby doesn’t have standing to sue the WNBA because it doesn’t employ her. The motions to dismiss were filed Wednesday.

The WNBA also disputed her claim that the league didn’t properly investigate her allegations. The league in May 2023 suspended Aces coach Becky Hammon for two games without pay and docked the Aces their first-round 2025 draft pick for providing impermissible player benefits involving Hamby.

Also, the WNBA denied it failed to extend Hamby’s marketing agreement with the league as a form of retaliation. The league pointed to the nine-month gap between her complaint and the contract expiring as evidence of lack of causation.

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

“Hamby’s Complaint alleges the Aces traded the rights to her contract because she was pregnant and retaliated against her after she created a social media post about the purported pregnancy discrimination,” the club said in its filing. “... Hamby’s false allegations against the Aces fall short of stating a plausible claim for relief.”

Hamby, a bronze-medal winner in 3X3 women’s basketball in this year’s Olympic Games, filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in September and amended the filing in October.

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

“The WNBA is, at its core, a workplace, and federal laws have long shielded pregnant women from discrimination on the job,” Hamby’s attorneys said in a statement after the suit was filed. “The world champion Aces exiled Dearica Hamby for becoming pregnant and the WNBA responded with a light tap on the wrist. 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.”

Hammon responded forcefully to a question in the news conference after the Aces defeated the Sparks on Aug. 18, six days after the lawsuit was filed.

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

“It’s also factual that nobody made a call about trading her until 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 likely future Hall of Famer Candace Parker.

Hamby, an All-Star for the third time in four seasons, is averaging career highs of 16.9 points and 9.2 rebounds this season. She was a two-time WNBA Sixth Player of the Year for the Aces.

The Aces also are being investigated by the WNBA regarding 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.