Aces coach Becky Hammon suspended for 2 games for pregnancy concerns

The WNBA suspended Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon for two games without pay on Tuesday for comments she made to All-Star forward Dearica Hamby about her pregnancy.

Hamby was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks in January, four months after the Aces won a championship. At the time, Hamby wrote in a post on Instagram that an unnamed person had made “disgusting comments” to her. She said she was accused of signing a contract extension when she knew she was pregnant and was told she was being traded because “I wouldn’t be ready and we need bodies”. She said her commitment to the team was also questioned.

“Did the team expect me to promise not to get pregnant in exchange for the contract extension?” Hamby wrote in the post. She had signed a contract extension in June 2022.

The WNBA did not provide details about what Hammon told Hamby, but said Hammon’s comments violated its workplace respect policy.

The league also said the Aces would lose a first-round pick in the 2025 draft due to Hamby promising unspecified impermissible advantages during contract negotiations. In her Instagram post, Hamby said she was “promised things to entice me into signing my contract extension that were not followed through.”

The WNBA players’ union called for an investigation into Hamby’s allegations. On February 8, the Aces said in a statement that the league had begun a formal investigation and that the team would cooperate.

“As an organization whose mission is to support and celebrate the immensely talented women in our league, we take seriously our responsibility to hold ourselves to the highest professional standards,” the Aces said in a statement at the time.

The WNBA season begins Friday.

This is the latest news. This article will be updated.