Dearica Hamby's head-turning federal lawsuit against Las Vegas Aces and the WNBA, explained
The Las Vegas Aces’ troubles are not going away anytime soon.
As if an active investigation about player sponsorships wasn’t enough, the Aces are in deep waters with former forward Dearica Hamby. Hamby filed a federal lawsuit this week against the team and the WNBA.
Hamby’s lawsuit continues a years-long battle over what she alleges is discrimination and retaliation based on a previous pregnancy and a trade to the Los Angeles Sparks. Many things have transpired since the initial rift between Hamby and the Aces, and it’s important to understand how we got here.
Here’s everything we know about Dearica Hamby’s federal lawsuit against the Las Vegas Aces, including a timeline of events:
In 2022, the Las Vegas Aces offered Dearica Hamby a two-year contract
(Mary Holt/USA TODAY Sports)
Hamby and Las Vegas agreed to a two-year contract extension on June 29, 2022.
At the time of the extension, general manager Natalie Williams said, “[Dearica] has been a key piece of our core group for several years now, and her energy and hustle will be invaluable to our future success.”
According to a source, Dearica Hamby’s contract extension with the Aces is for 2-years at $169K each year. It appears she took less to stay with the team.
— Khristina Williams (@Khristina) June 29, 2022
Dearica Hamby alleges that the Las Vegas Aces offered more than just a new deal
According to Hamby, Las Vegas promised “certain benefits” and inducements” to get her to sign, including an agreement to cover private school tuition for her daughter as a donation and allowing her to stay in team-provided housing so that her family could assist with childcare while she was on the road.
Interesting to note: Hamby claims Aces "promised" her "benefits and inducements outside of the contract to entice Hamby to sign," including covering her daughter's private school tuition.@howardmegdal has previously reported Aces had been investigated for other cap circumvention https://t.co/gref13SqBS pic.twitter.com/XYgsFIzBZv
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) August 12, 2024
Dearica Hamby discovers that she is pregnant and informs the Las Vegas Aces
Mar 6, 2022; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Jennifer Azzi (left), Las Vegas Aces forward Dearica Hamby (center) and Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis attend the Pac -12 Conference Women’s Tournament Championship at Michelob Ultra Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Weeks after signing her contract, Hamby shared that she was pregnant with Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon and general manager Natalie Williams. That’s when Hamby says that things suddenly shifted after news of her pregnancy became public knowledge among the staff.
According to Hamby’s account of the events, the team allegedly withheld the tuition it promised for her daughter — telling her that they were “working on it” — and removed her from team-provided housing. But things between Hamby and the Aces got significantly worse after that.
In a January 2023 Instagram post, Hamby alleged that the Aces questioned her commitment to the team and if she planned her pregnancy. Additionally, she shared that she believed a trade was happening because of her pregnancy and because “she wouldn’t be ready” and the team “needed bodies.”
The WNBA Players Association opens an investigation into the Las Vegas Aces
(Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports)
Following her trade to the Los Angeles Sparks, Hamby partnered with the WNBA Players Association to launch an investigation.
By May, the investigation was complete, and the WNBA concluded that the Aces violated league rules regarding impermissible player benefits and suspended Aces head coach Becky Hammon for two games without pay for violating WNBA and team respect in the workplace policies. The team also lost a 2025 first-round draft pick.
— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) May 16, 2023
Still, Dearica Hamby explored every avenue to have grievances with the Las Vegas Aces addressed
In September 2023, Hamby filed a complaint with the Nevada Equal Rights Commission and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and received a “notice of a right to sue” — or the right to file a lawsuit against an employer in a federal or state court — in May 2024.
In August 2024, the filing of Hamby’s lawsuit was confirmed. The details in the lawsuit included allegations that Las Vegas allegedly didn’t invite Hamby to their 2022 White House visit after it won a championship and that the team told its staff not to put Hamby’s daughter on-screen during a 2023 playoff game as retaliation for speaking publicly about the trade.
Per Callie Lawson-Freeman of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Hamby is also seeking damages for the loss of “reputational prestige” and marketing and endorsement opportunities she missed out on by being forced to move to Los Angeles.
Hamby alleges that the Aces didn't invite her to the White House to celebrate their 2022 title and told its video people not to put Hamby's daughter on screen in the arena during a 2023 playoff game as retaliation for Hamby speaking publicly about the reason she was traded. https://t.co/gref13RSMk pic.twitter.com/cRu7jUcpY9
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) August 12, 2024
Following Hamby’s filing, the WNBPA and the Las Vegas Aces responded with these statements:
WNBPA Executive Director Terri Carmichael Jackson's statement regarding Dearica Hamby's lawsuit against the Las Vegas Aces and the WNBA: pic.twitter.com/3PTN9WtzTr
— Khristina Williams (@Khristina) August 12, 2024
Statement from the Aces: “As an organization, we continue to stand behind our statement on May 16, 2023 made at the conclusion of the WNBA’s investigation into this matter. Given that this is an ongoing litigation, the Aces will have no further comment at this time.” https://t.co/XDW4NZy1my
— Callie Lawson-Freeman (@CallieJLaw) August 13, 2024
Becky Hammon shared several comments about Hamby’s lawsuit after an August 18 game against the Los Angeles Sparks. (It’s also worth noting that Hamby was seemingly booed by the Aces home crowd multiple times during the matchup.)
I asked Aces coach Becky Hammon about facing Dearica Hamby for the first time since she filed a federal lawsuit against the team and WNBA.
“I can give you some facts.” @LVSportsBiz #WNBA #ALLINLV pic.twitter.com/4YOULj4R03
— The Sportsnista (@TheSportsnista) August 19, 2024
The legal battle between Dearica Hamby, the WNBA and the Las Vegas Aces isn’t over
(Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports)
According to Mark Anderson of the Associated Press, on September 11, the WNBA filed a motion to dismiss Hamby’s federal lawsuit.
The league argued that Hamby doesn’t have standing to sue the WNBA because the league technically doesn’t employ her.
The WNBA also refutes Hamby’s claim that it didn’t properly investigate her allegations and denies failing to extend Hamby’s marketing agreement with the league as a form of retaliation. (The WNBA cited a nine-month gap between Hamby’s complaint and the contract expiring as evidence of lack of causation.)
Per Her Hoops Stats, the Aces also filed a motion, arguing that Hamby did not adequately prove that her January 2023 Instagram post sharing details about her trade caused any alleged retaliatory actions the Aces took.
The Aces also want the dismissal of Hamby’s claim of sexual discrimination because the team argues that Hamby failed to provide evidence or multiple defenses to support what she is accusing the team of.