Three-time WNBA All-Star and recent Olympic bronze medal winner Dearica Hamby filed a federal lawsuit Monday against the WNBA and the Las Vegas Aces, her former team, alleging discrimination and retaliation over Hamby’s pregnancy.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada and claims Hamby suffered “a loss of reputational prestige and brand value” and “loss of marketing and/or endorsement opportunities” after the Aces traded her to the Los Angeles Sparks in January 2023. The lawsuit is seeking damages through a jury trial.
“The WNBA is, at its core, a workplace, and federal laws have long shielded pregnant women from discrimination on the job,” Hamby’s legal team said Monday in a statement. “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.”
The lawsuit alleges that the Aces offered Hamby incentives outside of a two-year contract she signed in June 2022 in an effort to retain her services. Those incentives, per the filing, included “an agreement by the Las Vegas Aces to cover private tuition costs” for Hamby’s daughter, Amaya, and team-provided housing that the filing states Hamby used for family to assist with childcare duties when she was…
