Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon reacts during the fourth quarter of a game against the Seattle Storm at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Washington on July 10, 2024. Steph Chambers/Getty Images/AFP
LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon has again disputed former Aces player Dearrica Hamby’s claims that the Aces abused her and traded her because she was pregnant.
Hamby, who was traded to Los Angeles in January 2023, played for the organization from 2015-2022 when the Aces were based in San Antonio. She was named the league’s sixth player of the year in 2019 and 2020.
Hamby, who went public with her allegations last year, sued the WNBA and her former team in federal court last Monday.
Read: WNBA coach Becky Hammon denies abusing pregnant players
“I’ve been in the WNBA and NBA for the last 25 years,” Hammon said after the Aces beat Hamby and the Sparks 87-71 on Sunday. “I’ve never received an HR complaint. Not one. In fact, I still haven’t received one because Dearrica never filed any. She never filed any with the players union, she never filed any with the WNBA. These are the facts.”
“It’s also true that no one made the decision to trade her until Atlanta contacted us in January (of 2023). That’s true. So … it just didn’t happen.”
Hammon previously denied the allegations, saying Hamby was traded for strategic reasons — to put the team in a position to sign potential future Hall of Famer Candace Parker — in May 2023.
Read: Las Vegas Aces hire Becky Hammon on record coaching contract
“The reason we decided to move Hamby was because we were able to secure three people with her contract and we wanted to secure three more,” Hammon said at the time. “When you look at who we signed, I think it’s pretty clear why we made the decision to move them.”
The WNBA investigated the matter and suspended Hammon for two games without pay in May 2023. The team also forfeited its 2025 first-round draft pick for providing improper benefits to Hamby.
But Hamby argues the league hasn’t done enough. She filed a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in September and amended it in October. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled in May that she had a “right to sue,” according to the lawsuit.
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