WNBA Hands Punishment To Las Vegas Aces, Becky Hammon
You may remember the drama between the WNBA World Champion Las Vegas Aces and former player Dearica Hamby. Hamby filed a complaint with the league back in January regarding what she believed was poor treatment upon the team learning of her pregnancy. Now the team and head coach Becky Hammon are facing the music.
Why did Dearica Hamby file a complaint about the Las Vegas Aces?
Hamby was a lifer with the Aces organization and it’s former persona as the San Antonio Stars. In 2022 she put up decent numbers, averaging 9.3 points per game and over 7 rebounds per game. But soon after helping the Aces to bring Las Vegas its first professional sports championship, she says she got blowback for telling the team she was pregnant. A couple months later, she was traded away to the Los Angeles Sparks.
“I am heartbroken. Being traded is part of the business. Being lied to, bullied, manipulated and discriminated against is not. I’ve had my character and work ethic attacked. I was promised things to entice me to sign my contract extension that were not followed through on. I was accused of signing my extension knowingly pregnant. This is false.
I was told that I was “a question mark” and that it was said that I would “get pregnant again” and there was a concern for my level of commitment to the team. I was told that “I didn’t hold up my end of the bargain” (because no one expected me to get pregnant in the next 2 years).
Did the team expect me to promise not to get pregnant in exchange for the contract extension? I was asked if I planned my pregnancy. When I responded “no,” I was then told that I “was not taking precautions to not get pregnant.”
The WNBA levies punishments on the team
The WNBA looked into the allegations and concluded after several months and over 30 interviews that violations We have rescinded the Las Vegas Aces’ 2025 first-round draft pick for violating league rules regarding impermissible player benefits & suspended head coach Becky Hammon for two games w/o pay for violating league and team Respect in the Workplace policies
Full Statement ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/MtHz1yP2Gm
The WNBA announced today that it has rescinded the Las Vegas Aces’ 2025 first-round draft pick for violating league rules regarding impermissible player benefits and suspended Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon for two games without pay for violating league and team Respect in the Workplace policies.
The fine will cost Becky $50,000 in salary and the first round pick for the Aces, albeit likely to be low in the round, could cost the team for years to come.
As far as Dearica is concerned, she’s ready for another season with a new franchise.
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