Last month, Los Angeles Sparks star Dearica Hamby filed a lawsuit against the WNBA and the Las Vegas Aces, the team where she played most of her professional basketball career.
Hamby, a first-round draft pick by the San Antonio Stars, filed the paperwork in U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada on August 12. The Stars are relocating to Las Vegas for the 2018 season and changing their team name. Ace.
According to the lawsuit, on three occasions WNBA All-Star Hamby faced “repeated intimidation, discrimination and retaliation” before and after she joined the Sparks in 2023. Hamby was pregnant at the time. About a month later, the WNBA and Aces filed a motion to dismiss Hamby's federal lawsuit.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
LA Sparks forward Dearica Hamby (5) is introduced before a game against the New York Liberty at Crypto.com Arena on August 28, 2024 in Los Angeles. (Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports)
The league argued that Hamby has no right to sue the WNBA because she is not employed by the organization.
An investigation into Hamby's discrimination claims was opened in 2023. As a result of the investigation, Aces coach Becky Hammon was suspended for two games and the team was stripped of its first-round draft pick, but Hamby's lawyers argued the league did not respond quickly enough.
“The WNBA is essentially a workplace, and federal law has long protected pregnant women from workplace discrimination. The world champion Aces banned Dearica Hamby for being pregnant, but the WNBA responded with light punishment,” Dana Sniegocki, Erin Norgaard and Artur Davis of HKM employment law firm said in a statement after the lawsuit was filed.
Dearrica Hamby of the Los Angeles Sparks prepares to shoot a free throw during a game against the New York Liberty on June 20, 2024 in Brooklyn, New York. (Catalina Fragoso/NBAE via Getty Images)
However, the WNBA now disputes Hamby's claims that the league failed to properly investigate her allegations. The league also denied that it had denied Hamby an extension of her marketing contract with the WNBA in retaliation. The league pointed to the nine-month gap between her complaint and the expiration of her contract as evidence of no causation.
Meanwhile, Ace argued in his complaint that Hamby failed to provide evidence of retaliation or discrimination.
WNBA champion Dearrica Hamby files federal lawsuit against league and A's for discrimination
“Hamby's complaint alleges that Ace assigned her contractual rights because she was pregnant and retaliated against her after she made social media posts that allegedly constituted pregnancy discrimination,” the club said in the complaint. “Hamby's false allegations against Ace fail to state a plausible claim for relief.”
Las Vegas Aces player Dearica Hamby poses for a photo with the trophy after Game 4 of the 2022 WNBA Finals at Mohegan Sun Arena on September 18, 2022 in Uncasville, Connecticut. (Chris Marion/NBAE via Getty Images)
Hammon addressed the lawsuit during an Aug. 18 press conference following the Aces' win over the Sparks.
“I've been in the WNBA and the NBA for 25 years now,” Hammon said at the time. “I've never had a complaint from HR. Never. In fact, I still don't, because Dearica never filed a complaint. She never filed a complaint with the players union. She never filed a complaint with the WNBA. That's a fact.”
“It's also true that no one made the decision to trade her until Atlanta contacted us in January (2023). That's a fact. So, it just didn't happen.”
Click here to get the FOX News app
Hamby is a two-time WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year and was a member of the Aces' 2022 WNBA championship team.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Follow Fox News Digital X's sports coverageSubscribe Fox News Sports Huddle Newsletter.
