Dearica Hamby—a three-time WNBA All-Star, member of the Las Vegas Aces’ 2022 Championship Team, and recent Olympic bronze medalist—filed a lawsuit in federal court in Nevada against both the WNBA and the Aces. In her 18-page complaint, Hamby alleges the WNBA and the Aces violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and Nevada state law by trading her to the Los Angeles Sparks, months after she announced she was pregnant with her second child in August 2022. That disclosure came just months after Hamby played a pivotal role in securing the Aces' first WNBA Championship and signing a two-year contract extension with the Aces.
Hamby’s federal complaint mirrors the charge she filed with the EEOC and Nevada’s Equal Rights Commission in September 2023, which prompted the WNBA Players Association to request that the league investigate her allegations. After complying with this request, the WNBA suspended Aces’ head coach Becky Hammon for two games for violating its "Respect in the Workplace" policies. In both her complaint and EEOC/NERC charge, Hamby alleges Hammon made inappropriate comments about her pregnancy, including remarks that Hamby was not “taking proper precautions to avoid getting pregnant" and holding “up her end of the bargain because no one expected her to get pregnant again” after signing the two-year contract extension.
The investigation also revealed that the Aces violated the league’s policy on “impermissible benefits,” resulting in the loss of their 2025 first-round draft pick. According to the complaint, the Aces allegedly offered Hamby non-monetary perks—such as covering her first child’s school tuition and providing team housing—to persuade her to agree to contract extensions. Hamby claims the team reneged on these promises after she disclosed her pregnancy, even asking her to vacate the team-provided housing in October 2022, months before her trade to the Sparks in January 2023. Notably, the Aces are now under a separate investigation for salary cap circumvention.
Hamby’s complaint further contends that the WNBA violated federal and state law when it failed to renew her League Marketing Contract after she filed her EEOC/NERC charge. Hamby suggests the league did this to retaliate against her for engaging in protected activity.
As a result, Hamby is seeking compensatory and punitive damages from her former team and the WNBA for the significant harm she allegedly suffered because of the Aces and league’s discriminatory actions. In particular, Hamby contends her trade to the LA Sparks—which had a losing record in 2022 and 2023—damaged her reputational prestige and brand value. She also argues the trade caused “additional tax burdens, loss of marketing, endorsement, and sponsorship opportunities, reputational harm from excluding her from a championship team, and other financial and monetary losses.”
Hamby’s lawsuit underscores the pervasive issue of sex and gender discrimination in women’s sports in the United States. One glaring example is the stark pay disparity between male and female professional athletes. Many sports analysts and reporters speculate that the Aces’ alleged offers to cover Hamby’s child’s tuition and provide housing was meant to compensate for the WNBA’s relatively low salaries. For instance, the average 2024 WNBA player earns $116,000, while the average NBA player for the same year makes $12 million.
We've seen similar stories unfold in other sports, most notably in soccer. In 2019, 28 players from the United States Women’s National Soccer Team filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court against the United States Soccer Federation under Title VII and the Equal Pay Act. The lawsuit highlighted that the USSF paid players on the United States Men’s National Soccer Team significantly more than their counterparts on the USWNT, despite the women's team generating more revenue for the federation. After a long and arduous battle in the courts, the USNWT and USSF reached a $24 million settlement in 2022 that requires the federation to pay its female and male players equitably.
While the pay disparity between male and female professional athletes is well-known, pregnancy discrimination in sports has received far less attention. For many WNBA fans—including myself—it’s difficult to reconcile how an organization that champions women’s empowerment can also perpetuate sex and gender discrimination. However, at the end of the day, Hamby and her peers are employees of their franchises and the WNBA. As a result, her claims serve as a stark reminder of the importance of workplace culture and the need for employers to proactively implement policies that prevent such discrimination.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, after being traded to the Sparks, Hamby gave birth to her son on March 6, 2023. Just seven weeks later, she reported to training camp on April 28 and went on to play in every regular season game of the 2023 season—proving once again that moms are the real MVPs.