The WNBA and the Las Vegas Aces’ offices are facing a legal issue regarding the Los Angeles Sparks’ Dearica Hamby lawsuit. The 30-year-old forward deems these two companies discriminatory regarding her trade from the Aces to the Sparks due to her pregnancy.
Hamby once again filed a lawsuit in September 2023. She implied that the perpetrators were clearly violating the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. Her lawyer released a statement about it, which was posted on social media through sports writer Lyndsey D’Arcangelo.
“The WNBA is, at its core, a workplace, and federal laws have long shielded pregnant women from discrimination on the job. The world champions Aces exiled Dearica Hamby for becoming pregnant and the WNBA responded with a light tap on the wrist.”
The 2022 WNBA champion claimed that the Los Angeles Sparks traded her to them in January 2023 because of her pregnancy with her second child, who was born two months later.
For her, this was an act of discrimination and retaliation by her former team, the Las Vegas Aces, as a mother who wants to take care of his upcoming child.
The fact that her career suddenly downshifted made everyone’s actions suspicious of the WNBA’s intentions.
She tried to bring the issue to the women’s pro basketball league, but they didn’t investigate it thoroughly. This led to Hamby filing her first lawsuit in September 2023, hoping she’d get her justice.
The WNBA investigated the allegations and then made the final decision to suspend the Aces’ head coach, Becky Hammon, for just two games.
The team also withdrew their first-round pick for the 2025 league’s draft as part of the sanction.
However, Dearica Hamby and her legal team were utterly dissatisfied with the response, so they recently filed another lawsuit.
US law ultimately states that medical discrimination (in Hamby’s case of pregnancy) counts as gender discrimination.
Therefore, if the WNBA and the Las Vegas Aces were proven to be the perpetrators, the US court would punish them severely.
The WNBA is yet to respond to Dearica Hamby’s allegations.
So far, the women’s basketball league still needs to make significant moves after Hamby’s lawsuit. A spokesperson said that they are fully aware of the ongoing events and are looking into reviewing the complaint.
The WNBA is on break since some players played in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Their next game is on August 16. Hamby would continue to play for the Los Angeles Sparks in their upcoming game against the New York Liberty.
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