Los Angeles Sparks forward Dearica Hamby filed a federal lawsuit Monday against the WNBA and the Las Vegas Aces, alleging her former team and head coach Becky Hammon withheld agreed-upon benefits and questioned her commitment to the team after learning Hamby was pregnant.
Hamby, a multiple All-Star and champion with the Aces in 2022, signed a multi-year contract extension with the team in June of that year. The suit says the Aces promised Hamby “certain benefits and incentives outside of the contract,” including paying for private school tuition for his young daughter Amaya and providing housing for Hamby’s family.
Hamby discovered she was pregnant the following month, the lawsuit continues. Hamby alleges in the complaint that when she informed Hammon and Aces management and then publicly announced her pregnancy at the championship parade in September, there were changes in how she was treated — including being ordered to vacate team-provided housing and the team backtracking on tuition payments.
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The complaint also details a January 2023 phone conversation in which she says Hammon called her a “question mark,” accused her of signing her contract knowing she was pregnant and told her she had not held up her end of the bargain.
On the day of the alleged phone call, Hamby wrote in a social media post: “Imagine expressing your fears as a woman and being pregnant in this profession/world… Then being reassured that you were supported… and that your back was ‘held’… only to be used against you. LOL.”
Shortly after, Hamby was traded to the Sparks. She continued to speak on social media, asking: “Did the team expect me to promise not to get pregnant in exchange for the contract extension?”
Following a formal investigation by the WNBA, the Aces lost their 2025 first-round draft pick due to “impermissible player benefits” and Hammon was suspended two games for violating the team’s and league’s “respectful workplace policies.”
Hamby claims the WNBA failed to adequately punish the Aces or Hammon and that the team retaliated against her after she went public on social media with her allegations of discrimination.
After giving birth to her son Legend in March 2023, Hamby played in all 40 games for the Sparks. This season, she was selected as an All-Star for the third time and won a bronze medal in women’s 3×3 basketball at the Paris Olympic Games.
