LA Sparks forward Dearica Hamby filed a lawsuit against the Las Vegas Aces and WNBA, citing acts of intimidation, discrimination and retaliation that resulted in her being traded to her current team from the Aces. While Hamby initiated a federal discrimination complaint in September 2023 itself, a lawsuit was filed recently.

A statement from Hamby’s attorney read, via 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.

Every potential mother in the league is now on notice that childbirth would 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.”

Dearica Hamby has officially filed a federal lawsuit against the Las Vegas Aces and the WNBA, detailing the repeated acts of intimidation, discrimination, and retaliation that culminated in January 2023 with the Aces trading Hamby because the star forward was pregnant.

— Lyndsey D’Arcangelo 🏀 (@darcangel21) August 12, 2024

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act deems discrimination based on medical conditions, pregnancy and childbirth as a type of unlawful sex discrimination. With U.S. Law on her side, the Aces and WNBA could be in a lot of trouble if the court rules in Hamby’s favor.

WNBA suspended Aces coach and forfeited pick after Dearica Hamby’s allegations

This is not the first time that the news of discrimination against Hamby made headlines. After she filed a federal discrimination complaint, the WNBA looked into the matter and investigated the allegations, which claimed that the Las Vegas Aces were unfair toward her during her pregnancy and finally traded her to the LA Sparks in January 2023.

After the league’s investigation, coach Becky Hammon was suspended for two games for reportedly questioning Dearica Hamby’s commitment to the team during her pregnancy. Aside from the suspension, the reigning WNBA champions were also forced to forfeit their 2025 first-round draft pick.

It’s safe to say that Hamby and her legal team weren’t happy with the WNBA’s resolution and wanted further punishment to be dished out to the Aces. Hamby’s attorney’s statement referred to WNBA’s sanctions against Las Vegas as a “light tap on the wrist.”