A week after Dearica Hamby filed a lawsuit against the WNBA and her former team, the Las Vegas Aces, Aces coach Becky Hammon fired back with strong words to give her own side of the dispute.
Hamby filed a federal lawsuit last Monday alleging that she faced “intimidation, discrimination and retaliation” from the Aces while she was pregnant with her second child, Legend. The All-Star forward played for Las Vegas for five seasons from 2018 to ‘22 and was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks in January 2023, giving birth to Legend two months later.
In light of Hamby’s allegations, Hammon gave a blunt response when asked about the lawsuit after the Aces’ 87-71 win over Hamby and the Sparks on Sunday.
“Here’s some facts,” Hammon said in the postgame press conference. “I’ve been in either the WNBA or the NBA for now 25 years. I’ve never had an HR complaint. Never, not once. I still didn’t, actually, because Dearica didn’t file any. She didn’t file with the players’ union, she didn’t file with the WNBA. Those are facts.
“It’s also factual that nobody made a call about trading her until Atlanta called us in January [2023]. That’s a fact. And so to me, it just didn’t happen, I’m sorry. The bullying? I spoke with her every day. If she wanted to practice, she practiced. If she didn’t, she didn’t. Over-the-top care, actually. Over-the-top care.”
“I’ve been in either the WNBA or the NBA for 25 years now; I’ve never had an HR complaint—never, not once. I still didn’t actually ‘cause Dearica didn’t file any. She didn’t file with the players' union.She didn’t file with the WNBA. Those are the facts.” Becky Hammon on lawsuit pic.twitter.com/C0K1cLkpVw
— Khristina Williams (@Khristina) August 19, 2024
Hamby’s lawsuit comes over a year after she first aired her grievances toward the Aces on social media following her trade, which prompted a months-long WNBA investigation. Hammon received a two-game suspension for violating the league’s workplace policy rules, and the Aces forfeited their 2025 first-round draft pick for a different violation which involved giving Hamby impermissible player benefits.
In the wake of the investigation, the Aces’ franchise defended Hammon and said in a statement that the WNBA’s findings were “inconsistent with what we know and love about her.”
Following the Hamby trade, the Aces signed two-time MVP Candace Parker, who is now retired, along with two other players and repeated as WNBA champions.
“We made the decision to move Hamby because we could get three bodies in for her one contract,” Hammon said in May 2023. “I think it’s very evident who we signed why we made the move, but [Hamby’s pregnancy] was never an issue and it was never the reason she was traded. It just wasn’t. It came down to math and business. That’s all it was. Nothing personal.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Becky Hammon Didn’t Hold Back When Asked About Dearica Hamby’s Lawsuit Against Aces.
