The Las Vegas Aces and WNBA argue that Dearica Hamby’s work retribution lawsuit is flawed and should be dismissed in individual gestures to reject filed in a Nevada federal court on Wednesday.
According to Sportico, Hamby accuses the Aces and WNBA of unlawful retribution in contravention of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and a Nevada work act on the grounds of her pregnancy.
Hamby claims the Cards traded her on Jan. 21, 2023, because she was pregnant. That same day on Instagram, Hamby posted important comments about the group’s “discriminatory trade”. The Aces reportedly told their people and workers to stop communicating with Hamby, attempted to obtain her medical records, and refused to ask her to a White House meeting with Vice President Kamala Harris on August 25, 2023, to celebrate their Aces ‘ victory in the WNBA tournament.

Hamby claims that the WNBA retaliated by refusing to prolong her WNBA marketing agreement and failing to properly evaluate her workplace allegations.
The Aces level to what they say are shortcomings in Hamby’s problem.
The team insists that Hamby is first and foremost false when they claim the unknown Aces retaliators knew about her Instagram blog. Hamby omits any possible causal link between the blog and any hostile acts, the Aces contend.
The Aces further assert that there was no direct connection between Hamby’s post and reportedly vindictive acts because too much time passed between the two. For instance, the visit to the White House occurred about seven months after the article.
The Aces even task Hamby on details. The team notes that Hamby “does not identify the person( s ) with the Aces who issued this alleged directive to cease communication” and that she “does not identify the players who received the directive and/or stopped communicating with her as a result of the directive.”
Even if there was some kind of policy, the Aces contend that it more possible reflected a routine company practice, where players and staff no longer connect with players who have joined another, rival team. Other possible causes could have been that Hamby and other staff members “did not want to talk with her ] in general” or that they stopped communicating “because of her associations with her sweetheart, who is rumored to have been verbally and physically abusive to Hamby.”
The Aces even refute the notion that Hamby’s inability to meet Harris constitutes retaliation. Hamby, the team argues, does n’t offer facts “establishing but-for causation” tying the post to the White House invitation. The Aces already play the Washington Mystics that day, according to the team, and Hamby and Iliana Rupert, another former Aces championship player who did n’t meet with Harris, “had a game against each other in Atlanta that same day.”

The group also rejects the notion that Hamby’s switch from one WNBA group to another constituted an illegal action. Player investments, the Aces relate, are part of the business of professional sports. This trade allegedly made basketball sense, the Aces maintain, since Hamby was their “highest paid non-core player”, and by trading her and releasing another player, the Aces acquired three new players ( Candace Parker, Cayla George and Alysha Clark ) and re-signed Kiah Stokes.
Further, the Aces maintain that Title VII case law does n’t support the use of trade as evidence of employment discrimination. A collective bargaining agreement that Hamby’s coalition, the WNBPA, had negotiated allowed the trade of Hamby’s deal from one group to another. Her pay was n’t cut, she was n’t demoted, and she was n’t relegated to a new kind of job. Hamby switched from playing hockey for the Aces to the Sparks.
The Aces likewise reject Hamby’s claim that losing out on personal marketing opportunities and being traded from a two-time WNBA hero company to a struggling company, which the Sparks insist “are handled through their providers, not the team,” are legitimate damages. In a similar vein, the Aces contend that even if Hamby must pay higher taxes and have to pay a higher cost of living because Vegas is a comparably cheaper city to live in LA and California has among the highest state income taxes, those are n’t the kinds of harms protected by anti-discrimination laws.
The Aces assert that the decision may cause issues for companies with workers in offices in various states if Hamby prevails on a tax-and-cost-of-living discussion.
” It would eviscerate the requirement for adverse employment actions in any transfer case”, the Aces insist,” as any transfer could involve different state or local taxes ( income, property, sales, etc. ) and associated rules that are more or less positive”.
The WNBA makes similar defenses against Hamby. The group cites Hamby’s marketing contract as having a “fixed term with a fixed expiration date.” Hamby was not legally required to sign another contract, so the WNBA was.
The WNBA also maintains that Hamby was n’t a league employee. She worked for the Aces and was a WNBA independent contractor, like other people who signed advertising contracts with the group. Her promises under Title VII and the state rules that follow need her to work.
Additionally, the group contends that an allegation of a failure to properly investigate and correct an alleged damage is not considered to be a negative employment practice. Additionally, Hamby allegedly violated a legal requirement that she must file a complaint of prejudice with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the Nevada Equal Rights Commission before filing a lawsuit against the WNBA over the selling contract. ” Her day to complete so”, the WNBA writes, “has expired”.
Hamby’s lawyers will have the chance to challenge the Aces ‘ and WNBA claims. The situation is before U. S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon. At any time, the parties could approach an out-of-court arrangement.