LAS VEGAS (AP) 鈥� 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 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 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.
鈥淗amby鈥檚 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,鈥� the club said in its filing. 鈥�... Hamby鈥檚 false allegations against the Aces fall short of stating a plausible claim for relief.鈥�
Hamby, a bronze-medal winner in 3X3 women鈥檚 basketball in this year's Olympic Games, 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 鈥渞ight to sue.鈥�
鈥淭he WNBA is, at its core, a workplace, and federal laws have long shielded pregnant women from discrimination on the job,鈥� Hamby鈥檚 attorneys said in a statement after the suit was filed. 鈥淭he 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鈥檛 be right in one of the most prosperous and dynamic women鈥檚 professional sports leagues in America.鈥�
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.
鈥淚鈥檝e been in either the WNBA or the NBA for now 25 years,鈥� Hammon said at the time. 鈥淚鈥檝e never had an HR complaint. Never, not once. I still didn鈥檛, actually, because Dearica didn鈥檛 file any. She didn鈥檛 file with the players鈥� union, she didn鈥檛 file with the WNBA. Those are facts.
鈥淚t鈥檚 also factual that nobody made a call about trading her until Atlanta called us in January (2023). That鈥檚 a fact. So ... it just didn鈥檛 happen.鈥�
Hammon said in May 2023 that Hamby was traded to put the club in position to .
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 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.
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AP WNBA:
Mark Anderson, The Associated Press
