Becky Hammon has denied ex-player Dearica Hamby’s accusations that she was bullied by the coach while pregnant, saying she ‘never had a single bad text with the former Aces player.
Hammon was suspended for two games by the WNBA after a league investigation found that she and the team violated “league and team respect policies in the workplace.”
Separately, the Aces were found to have violated foul play rules in their dealings with Hamby, for which the team lost its 2025 first-round pick.
A day after Hammon was suspended, she pushed back on the characterization that she was treating Hamby poorly.
“I don’t remember my relationship with Hamby being anything but up, and I’m just — obviously with the organization — disappointed with the results,” Hammon told reporters on Tuesday, ESPN reported.
The WNBA vacated the 2025 first-round pick of the Las Vegas Aces and suspended coach Becky Hammon (pictured) for two games following an investigation into a rule violation.
Hamby claimed she was traded by the Aces because they feared she might get pregnant again
“I’ve never had a single bad text between me and Dearica Hamby or an email. First of all, I don’t send emails to my players. I talk to them directly. But we trade texts, and anything less than I can tell you is flatly wrong and untrue from anyone in this organization.
‘It’s never [good] to have your name associated with something like that, which is not who you are as a person. That’s not how I operate. I spoke to my team; they were great. I have to say they were very professional throughout this process.
Hamby alleged on social media in January that she was “traumatized” by the “unprofessional and unethical way” she was treated after announcing her pregnancy and trade to the Los Angeles Sparks.
That same month, she said she was told she “didn’t take my workouts seriously” and that Aces staff told her they “[didn’t] see that she would be ready to return to court.
She went public with her allegations against the Aces after the move, accusing the front office of having traded her because they feared she might “get pregnant again.”
“Being traded is part of the business,” Hamby said on Instagram hours after being traded to the Sparks in January.
“Being lied to, bullied, manipulated and discriminated against is not.”
Hammon, meanwhile, called the trade a “trade decision, while the WNBA Players’ Association said the penalty “missed the mark.”
A statement from the WNBAPA read: “Where in this decision does this team or any other team in the League learn that respect in the workplace is the highest standard and that a player’s dignity cannot be manipulated ?”
Hamby claimed her former organization treated her in an ‘unprofessional and unethical manner which…was traumatic’ due to her pregnancy
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert claimed the league was ‘disheartened’ by the violation
“Incidents of team personnel misconduct cannot always be compared, but recent League sanctions and an honest view of the facts demonstrate that this sanction is far from appropriate.”
“While removing a future draft pick is important and has never been done in League history, it penalizes a future player by removing an opportunity to compete for a job.”
The WNBA said 33 people were interviewed as part of the investigation – although Hammon said that list did not include any Aces players from last season that he was aware of.
The Aces also released a statement in support of Hammon and said they were “deeply disappointed with the findings of the investigation.”