Dearica Hamby knew that it was going to be a troublesome return again to Las Vegas — the Sparks’ ahead had made the journey a number of instances since being traded from the Aces to Los Angeles.
However, the latest go to — an August 18th recreation between the Sparks and the Ace — was undeniably completely different.
That’s as a result of this time, she was just some days faraway from submitting a federal lawsuit that detailed the “repeated acts of intimidation, discrimination, and retaliation” she confronted after informing the Aces, and head coach Becky Hammon, that she was pregnant — which she alleges finally resulted in her commerce. Within the 18-page lawsuit, Hammon delineated that she was promised further advantages by the Aces — like getting her daughter’s personal faculty tuition covere — however that when her being pregnant got here to mild, she misplaced them. A full explainer of the allegations will be discovered right here.
It wasn’t the primary time Hamby’s allegations in opposition to the Aces and Hamon had been seemed into; when the WNBA performed an investigation final yr, they suspended Hammon for 2 video games and stripped the group of their 2025 first-round draft decide.
However, this time, with Hamby searching for monetary compensation, the lawsuit was escalated to the federal degree, and a brand new wave of media protection adopted.
So, on August 18th, when the Sparks visited the Aces for the primary time because the federal swimsuit was filed, Hamby knew that going again to Las Vegas may find yourself being a difficult expertise.
“Paradoxically, I attempted to course of it and put together myself, in a way, however you’ll be able to’t actually put together for it till you undergo it,” Hamby mentioned on a current podcast episode of Good Recreation with Sarah Spain.
When the Aces-Sparks recreation started, she was reportedly booed each time she touched the ball.
(dearica hamby’s getting booed each time she touches the ball. loudly. it’s … one thing.)
— Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) August 18, 2024
“I fought again tears the complete recreation,” Hamby mentioned. “It was heartbreaking, however individuals don’t totally know and perceive, they’re simply going off the game side of it. I perceive that.”
Hamby, a three-time All-Star, performed for the Aces for 8 years previous to the commerce, successful Sixth Lady of the 12 months in 2019 and 2020, earlier than serving to the franchise to its first-ever title in 2022.
However, because the boos echoed within the Michelob ULTRA area, her illustrious resume with the Aces group didn’t appear to matter, and as an alternative, the lawsuit was entrance and middle. Within the podcast, Hamby informed Sarah Spain that she speculated lots of the animosity got here from newer followers.
“I don’t know in the event that they had been new followers, I feel lots of the previous followers most likely weren’t collaborating in that,” Hamsby mentioned. “However, simply the love and coronary heart that I poured into being part of that, and I didn’t ask to go away, so to say.”
After the August 18 Sparks-Aces recreation, which resulted in an 87-71 Aces win, Hammon denied any wrongdoing to reporters.
“It simply didn’t occur. I’m sorry — the bullying, I spoke along with her on daily basis,” Hammon mentioned. “If she needed to observe, she practiced. If she didn’t, she didn’t. Over-the-top care, really. Excessive care. That’s the very fact.”
It’s been nearly a month because the two groups confronted off in entrance of the raucous Aces crowd. The Sparks season is almost over, the Aces look to make a playoff push — and the federal being pregnant discrimination lawsuit stays pending. It’s a narrative that’s possible removed from over, and one that would yield different ramifications.
For now, Hamby simply hopes for a optimistic end result.
“It was a second that — main as much as it, I had extreme overwhelmingness and nervousness in my abdomen,” she mentioned. “That course of has handed, I’m simply wanting ahead to the proper factor being finished.”
