Dearica Hamby filed a gender discrimination criticism final week towards the WNBA and the Las Vegas Aces, saying her former group and its coach, Becky Hammon, retaliated towards her after she knowledgeable them she was pregnant.
Hamby filed the criticism with the Nevada Equal Rights Fee and the Equal Employment Alternative Fee, in accordance with a duplicate of the criticism obtained by The Related Press on Thursday.
The criticism mentioned that the franchise created an “abusive and hostile” work setting for Hamby final yr earlier than buying and selling her to the Los Angeles Sparks within the offseason. That got here after Hamby informed the group she was pregnant together with her second youngster.
Hamby additionally alleged that Hammon requested the participant if she had deliberate her being pregnant, including that the coach informed her she was “not holding up (her) finish of the discount” after signing a two-year extension final yr.
Hamby additionally mentioned that the WNBA did not correctly examine her allegations. The league had a months-long probe that concluded proper earlier than the season began and suspended Hammon two video games for violating league and group “respect within the office” insurance policies.
“The league carried out a radical investigation of the allegations and levied acceptable self-discipline primarily based on its findings,” a WNBA spokesperson mentioned.
The Washington Submit was the primary to report the criticism.
The criticism shall be investigated and the EEOC might try and resolve the matter by way of mediation. If mediation fails or if the EEOC doesn’t discover cheap trigger that discrimination or retaliation occurred, it should subject a “proper to sue” letter, giving Hamby 90 days to file a lawsuit in federal or state court docket.
The Aces are on the point of face New York within the WNBA Finals, which start Sunday. The group declined touch upon the brand new criticism.
In Might, Hammon refuted Hamby’s claims and mentioned the Aces traded the two-time WNBA Sixth Girl of the Yr as a result of it was finest for the group.
″(Hamby’s being pregnant) wasn’t an issue, and it by no means was why we made the choice,” Hammon mentioned on the time. “We made the choice to maneuver Hamby as a result of we may get three our bodies in her one contract, and we wished to get three extra folks in. I believe it’s very evident (with) who we signed on why we made the transfer.
Hamby had a productive season with the Sparks taking part in two months after giving delivery to her son. She performed in all 40 video games and averaging 8.9 factors and 5.9 rebounds.
“Within the 2020 Collective Bargaining Settlement, participant mother and father gained protections that ensured turning into a mother or father didn’t imply the tip of a profession,” the WNBA Gamers’ Union mentioned in a press release. “Clearly, these protections didn’t change the character of this enterprise. Any group can commerce any participant for any purpose or no purpose in any respect. However that purpose can’t be on the idea of race, gender, sexual orientation, parental standing, or being pregnant standing.”
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