On Sunday, Los Angeles Sparks forward Dearica Hamby faced the Las Vegas Aces for the first time since she filed a lawsuit accusing her former team of workplace discrimination and retaliation. In her complaint, filed last Monday in a Nevada federal court, Hamby said she faced “discriminatory treatment” from Aces head coach Becky Hammon upon announcing her pregnancy at the end of the 2022 season. A few media members in the arena reported that the Vegas crowd booed Hamby whenever she touched the ball, and the booing was sometimes loud enough to hear on the TV broadcast. (Las Vegas Review-Journal beat reporter Callie Lawson-Freeman also shared a photo of some fans with pro-Hamby signs.)
After Sunday's game, Cassandra Cousineau of LVSportsBiz.com asked Hammon about Hamby's lawsuit. Below are Hammon’s first public comments on the suit since it was filed, transcribed in full:
COUSINEAU: Congratulations on the win today. I bet it’s got to feel good coming off of the loss yesterday. But I do have a difficult question for you, an uncomfortable question. It's the first time Dearica’s been back into the Las Vegas home court since she filed a suit. I know you can’t talk about it specifically, but my question is—
HAMMON: I can give you some facts. I can give you some facts. Want some facts?
COUSINEAU: I do want facts, and I also would like to know, what would you like to tell people about your integrity as a coach and the integrity of the organization you work for?
HAMMON: Here’s some facts. 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. That’s the facts. OK? And so, to me, I mean, there’s—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. That’s the facts.
Hammon has previously disputed Hamby's version of events, which Hamby first made public in an Instagram statement when she was traded to Los Angeles. “I handled Dearica with care from Day One when she told me, and she knows that,” Hammon said on May 17, 2023, a day after the WNBA announced it was suspending Hammon two games for a “Respect in the Workplace violation…related to comments made by Hammon to Hamby in connection with Hamby’s recent pregnancy.” Hamby’s lawsuit also names the WNBA as a defendant, and claims that the league “did not impose adequate punishment or consequences” on Hammon or the Aces.
In her comments yesterday, Hammon appeared to reject Hamby’s specific account of the days leading up to that trade in 2023. The complaint describes two phone calls between Hamby and Hammon, one on Jan. 15 and one on Jan. 16. In her complaint, Hamby says that Hammon “questioned Hamby’s commitment and dedication to the team” during the Jan. 15 call. During the Jan. 16 call, Hammon allegedly told Hamby, “Your time with the Aces is up” and that she could “‘pick a place like Los Angeles or Atlanta,’ or that Hammon could trade her to either the Connecticut Sun or the Indiana Fever.” The lawsuit doesn't mention any complaint made to the union, but says that WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson emailed the WNBA's general counsel to request an investigation after seeing the statement Hamby posted on Instagram.
Hamby, who finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds in a Sparks loss, wasn’t made available to the media after Sunday's game, but Sparks head coach Curt Miller praised her in a closing statement at the end of his postgame presser. “I just want to end with, again, can’t be more proud of Dearica, another double-double and the environment that she was playing in tonight and how she handled it,” Miller said. “A really neat stat that you guys need to know is that tonight, with now the season series over and her 88 points [against the Aces in the season series], that’s the third-most for a player against their former team in WNBA history. So, really proud of the series that she has put together in the four games against Las Vegas this year, and again tonight. Just really special for what she went through here in Vegas and the performance she put together. Just really proud of her. She’s been such a great player to coach.”
