Becky Hammon, the coach of the Las Vegas Aces, has once again addressed the allegations made by Dearica Hamby, a former player for the Aces, that the Aces mistreated her and traded her because of her pregnancy.
During the period of 2015–22, Hamby was a member of the organisation, beginning with the time when the Aces were situated in San Antonio. He was eventually traded to Los Angeles in January 2023. In both 2019 and 2020, she was honoured with the title of Sixth Player of the Year by the league.
Last year, Hamby made her allegations public and filed a lawsuit against the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and her former team in federal court on Monday.
Hammon stated on Sunday, following the Aces’ victory over Hamby and the Sparks by a score of 87-71, that she has been playing in either the WNBA or the NBA for the past 25 years. “I have never received a complaint from human resources. None of the time, ever. In fact, I still did not, because Dearica did not bother to file any. She did not submit her paperwork to the players’ union, nor did she submit her paperwork to the Women’s National Basketball Association. Both of those are true.
The fact that nobody called us about trading her until Atlanta called us in January (2023) is another fact that needs to be mentioned. That is a well-known truth. So … That simply did not take place.”
Hammon had previously refuted the charges, stating in May 2023 that Hamby was traded for strategic reasons, specifically to put the club in a position to sign Candace Parker, who is extremely likely to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in the future.
At the time, Hammon stated, “We made the decision to move Hamby because we could get three bodies in her one contract, and we wanted to get three more people in.” This brought about the decision to move Hamby. My opinion is that it is extremely clear (with the people that we signed on) why we decided to make the shift.
The WNBA’s investigation led to Hammon’s suspension for two games without pay in the month of May 2023. Additionally, the Aces were penalised with a first-round draft pick in 2025 because they participated in the provision of player benefits that were not permitted.
On the other hand, Hamby believes that the league did not go far enough. In September, she submitted a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on the grounds that she had been subjected to discrimination. In October, she revised the complaint that she had submitted. In May, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said that she had the “right to sue.”