The WNBA has suspended Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon as it’s understood that she made certain negative comments toward a player after she got pregnant.
Hammon has received a two-game suspension from the league, meaning the Aces will be made to start their title defense without her as she will be away from the bench for the season opener plus the game that follows.
The Aces are also set to lose their first-round draft pick for 2025 as a result of the punishment, which comes two-fold, with the WNBA citing a violation of its Respect in the Workplace policy plus contravention of impermissible benefits while negotiating with the player in question, Dearica Hamby.
The Aces have already traded their first-round pick for next season.
The decision comes on the heels of an investigation that took at least a month to complete. Hamby claims to have been “traumatized” as a result of the treatment she received after she was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks after revealing she was pregnant.
“Being traded is part of the business. Being lied to, bullied, manipulated, and discriminated against is not,” Hamby stated.
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“I have 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 said I would “get pregnant again” and there was a concern for my level of commitment to the team.”
While the league did not disclose Becky’s comments, they have determined that they were in violation of their policies.
The WNBA is also reported to have probed into allegations claiming the Aces were skirting league rules pertaining to player payment and providing impermissible benefits, having acquired Candace Parker in the offseason. But no evidence of such was found.
