WNBA player Derek Hamby sues league, former team over alleged treatment during pregnancy

CNN
—

Three-time WNBA star Derek Hamby filed a discrimination and unlawful retaliation lawsuit Monday against the league and her former team, the Las Vegas Aces, accusing the team of treating her unfairly because she was pregnant, according to the public relations firm hired by her attorneys.

one thousandlawsuit This comes after Hamby was subjected to “repeated acts of intimidation, discrimination and retaliation that culminated in January 2023 when the Aces traded Hamby (to the Los Angeles Sparks) because the star forward was pregnant,” the company said in a statement.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and penalties.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Nevada, said the WNBA “has taken no steps to correct or remedy a clear violation” of Hamby’s rights “under state and federal anti-discrimination law.”

A WNBA spokesperson said the league is “aware of the complaint filed today” and officials are “reviewing the complaint.”

The team, which moved to Las Vegas from San Antonio in 2018 after being sold, did not respond to CNN’s request for comment.

Hamby played for the organization from 2015 to 2022, winning a WNBA title in her final season. She signed a two-year contract extension in June 2022, just seven months before her move, according to the lawsuit.

Hamby first accused the Las Vegas Aces of wrongdoing shortly after her January 2023 transfer, claiming on social media that she was “lied to, bullied, manipulated and discriminated against” by the team before her move.

Hamby believes she was swapped because of her pregnancy.

According to the lawsuit, Hamby discovered she was pregnant in mid-July 2022 — about three weeks after signing her contract extension with the Aces — and then informed head coach Becky Hammon and other team staff of the pregnancy in early August 2022. She continued to play and won a WNBA championship with the Aces in September 2022, and two days later announced during a public celebration in Las Vegas that she was pregnant, according to the lawsuit.

“After announcing her pregnancy, Plaintiff Hamby experienced noticeable changes in the way she was treated by Las Vegas Aces employees,” the lawsuit states.

On or about Jan. 15, 2023, according to the lawsuit, Hammon told Hamby in a phone call that Hamby was a “question mark,” that the Aces “need bodies,” and that Hamby would not be ready to play in time for the 2023 season, which is scheduled to begin preseason games in April.

In response, Hamby assured Hammon that she is committed to the team, will give birth during the offseason, and expects to be fully ready to play by the start of preseason.

During the call, Hamon also accused “Plaintiff Hamby of knowingly signing her contract extension while she was pregnant, a false accusation that Hamby denied,” and said ACES employees believed “that Hamby would become pregnant again,” according to the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, Hamby asked Hammon twice during the call, “You’re trafficking me because I’m pregnant?” Hammon replied, according to the lawsuit, “What do you want me to do?”

“Hamon did not deny the allegation that Hamby was traded because she was pregnant,” the lawsuit states.

CNN has asked Hamon for comment.

In May 2023, Hamon told reporters: “It was not an issue, and it was never the reason we decided to move Hamby.

“We made the decision to move Hamby because we could get three players for one contract… That was never an issue, it wasn’t the reason for replacing her. It wasn’t at all.”

Hamby gave birth to her son, Legend, on March 6, 2023, according to the lawsuit, and attended training camp with the Sparks on April 28, 2023. The lawsuit says she played in all 40 of the team’s regular-season games.

The WNBA investigated Hamby’s allegations after she filed a complaint in January 2023 and subsequently suspended Hammon for two games for violating league and team workplace policies. The WNBA also stripped the Aces of their 2025 first-round pick. Unauthorized Benefits in Relation to Hampi ContractBut Hamby’s lawyers say the league has refused to disclose details of its investigation. A 2023 league press release He said Hamon was suspended due to “comments Hamon made to Hamby regarding Hamby’s recent pregnancy.”

“The WNBA is, at its core, a workplace, and federal laws have long protected pregnant women from employment discrimination. Aces world champion Derek Hamby was fired because she became pregnant, and the WNBA responded with a slap on the wrist,” Hamby’s attorneys said in a statement Monday.

“Every potential mother in the league now knows that giving birth can change her career prospects overnight. That’s not true in one of the most thriving and dynamic women’s professional sports leagues in America.”

WNBPA – WNBA Players Association – It was said in 2023 The WNBA’s handling of the situation “misses the point.”

Asked to provide a statement on Hamby’s lawsuit on Monday, WNBPA Executive Director Terri Carmichael said: “We reiterate our previous position that in the 2020 Collective Bargaining Agreement, players’ parents were provided with protections that ensure becoming a parent does not mean the end of their careers.

“Obviously, this protection does not change the nature of this trade. Any team can trade any player for any legitimate reason or for no reason at all. But that reason cannot be based on race, gender, sexual orientation, parental status, or pregnancy status.”

Hamby, a two-time WNBA Sixth Player of the Year, averaged 19.2 points and 7.4 rebounds per game this season. Both are top 10 stats. – He was voted into the All-Star game for the third time.

Hamby recently won a bronze medal at the Olympics as a member of the U.S. women’s 3×3 basketball team. In June, Signed an extension with the Sparks.keeping her with the team until 2025.

“I am grateful to have found a home in Los Angeles with an ownership group and organization that believes in me and has been nothing but supportive since the day I got here,” Hamby said in Sparks Newsletter “I look forward to continuing to build with my teammates and returning the Sparks to the level they have historically set.”