Commissioner Cathy Engelbert addresses Dearica Hamby's lawsuit against Las Vegas Aces and WNBA: "Spent a lot of time with her"

The WNBA is looking into the federal lawsuit filed by LA Sparks All-Star forward Dearica Hamby against her former team the Las Vegas Aces and the league for discrimination. WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert made this assurance, highlighting that they are fully behind in protecting the players.

Speaking on "Good Morning America" with Robin Roberts on Wednesday, Engelbert was asked about the Hamby lawsuit. She said they are reviewing it to properly address it.

The league commissioner said:

"I just saw that the complaint was filed and we're reviewing it obviously. We'll let our lawyers take a look at it. Dearica is such a great player in this league. She just represented our country in the 3x3 in the Olympics and won the bronze. Dearica is great. She has two children, great mom. Spent a lot of time with her for the past couple of years and we'll obviuously review this."

Dearica Hamby, 30, filed the lawsuit accusing the Aces and the WNBA of discriminating against her while she was pregnant with her second child, which saw her being traded to the Sparks in January last year.

She alleges that the trade was prompted by the announcement of her pregnancy after signing a contract extension with the Aces, with whom she won a WNBA title in 2022.

Hamby's legal team claims that the trade caused its client so much pain, apart from lost income from possible endorsements and relocation to a less favorable tax environment.

They are seeking to go to trial to ask for compensatory and punitive damages.

The Aces responded that they traded Hamby not because of her pregnancy but more to address what the team needed to stay ahead of the competition.

Basketball continues for Dearica Hamby amid legal battle

While she is currently embroiled in a legal battle with her former team and the WNBA, basketball continues for Dearica Hamby as she buckles down to work in the second half of the season.

The two-time Sixth Woman of the Year and three-time All-Star is coming off a bronze-winning campaign in Olympics 3x3 basketball in Paris and looking to sustain the momentum with the LA Sparks.

Dearica Hamby has played in all 24 games of the Sparks (6-18) so far, and leads the team in scoring, rebounds and steals with norms of 19.2 points, 10 rebounds and 1.4 steals. She also dishes out 3.5 assists in 35 minutes of play.

The Sparks resume their campaign in a home game against the Eastern Conference-leading New York Liberty (21-4) on Thursday.