WNBA star Dearica Hamby sued her former group in federal court docket Monday, alleging the Las Vegas Aces discriminated towards her after she revealed she was pregnant.
Hamby, the three-time All Star and Olympian, additionally named the league as a defendant within the swimsuit, filed in federal district court docket in Nevada, which alleges WNBA officers didn’t meaningfully punish the group after it investigated her claims final yr, in keeping with a replica of the grievance.
Neither the Aces nor the WNBA responded to requests for remark Monday night time. An emailed request for remark despatched to an handle listed on the web site of Aces head coach Becky Hammon — who is known as within the swimsuit however not listed as a defendant — was not instantly returned Monday night time.
Hamby, 30, now a ahead with the Los Angeles Sparks, mentioned she alerted the Aces’ employees to her being pregnant in August 2022, days after she discovered she was pregnant along with her son, Legend, and within the weeks after she signed a two-year contract extension with the group, in keeping with the grievance.
After Hamby publicly introduced the being pregnant throughout a championship parade that September, the swimsuit alleges, group employees members started treating her in a different way, together with failing to pay for her daughter’s college tuition and instructing her to depart team-provided housing with out clarification.
The group had agreed to supply each as a part of her contract extension, the swimsuit says.
In a dialog the next January, the swimsuit alleges, Hammon questioned Hamby’s dedication to the group. The swimsuit says Hammon accused Hamby of getting signed the extension when she knew she was pregnant — a declare it says is fake — and failing to take correct precautions to keep away from getting pregnant.
“Hammon additional said that the Las Vegas Aces ‘wanted our bodies,’ and that Hamby wouldn’t be able to play in time for the beginning of the subsequent season,” the swimsuit says, alleging that Hamby assured Hammon she’d give delivery within the offseason and be able to play by preseason that April.
The subsequent day, on Jan. 16, Hammon informed Hamby her time with the group was up, the swimsuit says. 5 days later, the Aces introduced that Hamby had been traded to the Sparks.
The swimsuit, which doesn’t specify damages and seeks a jury trial, additionally accuses the Aces of retaliation. The group sought to wrongfully acquire Hamby’s medical data, the swimsuit says, and refused to increase a White Home invitation to her after she helped the group win its first WNBA championship.
After Hamby spoke out on social media on Jan. 21, 2023, about among the allegations in her grievance, the WNBA mentioned it had launched an investigation.
On Might 16 final yr, the league mentioned in a press release that the Aces had violated league guidelines in reference to Hamby’s contract. The WNBA rescinded the group’s first-round draft choose for 2024 and suspended Hammon for 2 video games with out pay, in keeping with the grievance.
In accordance with the swimsuit, the league took no steps to deal with what the grievance describes as a “clear-cut” violation of federal and state anti-discrimination legislation.