Becky Hammon DENIES she bullied Dearica Hamby, after Aces coach was suspended for two games by WNBA

Becky Hammon has denied accusations from former player Dearica Hamby that she was bullied by the coach while she was pregnant, saying that she ‘never had one bad text’ with the former Aces player.

Hammon was suspended for two games by the WNBA after an investigation from the league found she and the team violated ‘league and team Respect in the Workplace policies.’

Separately, the Aces were found to have violated impermissible benefits rules in their dealings with Hamby, for which the team lost its 2025 first-round pick.

A day after Hammon was suspended, she pushed against the characterization that she treated Hamby poorly.

 ‘I don’t recall my relationship with Hamby being anything but on the up-and-up, and I’m just — obviously along with the organization — disappointed with the findings,’ Hammon, according to ESPN, told reporters Tuesday.

The WNBA rescinded the Las Vegas Aces’ 2025 first-round draft pick and suspended coach Becky Hammon (pictured) for two games following an investigation into a rules violation

Hamby claimed that she was traded by the Aces because they feared she’d get pregnant again

‘I never had one bad text between me and Dearica Hamby or email. First of all, I don’t email my players. I talk to them directly. But we do exchange texts, and anything that is less than the up-and-up I can tell you is adamantly false and not true from any person in this organization.

‘It’s never [good] to have your name be associated with something like that, which is not who you are as a person. That’s not how I operate. I did talk to my team; they were great. I have to say they’ve been very professional throughout this whole process.’

Hamby alleged on social media in January that she was ‘traumatized’ by the ‘unprofessional and unethical way’ she was treated after she announced her pregnancy and subsequent trade to the Los Angeles Sparks.

The same month, she said she’d been told she was ‘not taking my workouts seriously’ and that Aces personnel told her they ‘[didn’t] see that’ she would be ready to return to the court. 

She publicly made her allegations against the Aces following the move, accusing the front office of trading her because they feared she would ‘get pregnant again’.

‘Being traded is part of the business,’ Hamby said on Instagram hours after she was traded to the Sparks in January.

‘Being lied to, bullied, manipulated, and discriminated against is not.’

Hammon, meanwhile, called the trade a ‘business decision, while the WNBA Players Association said the penalty ‘misses the mark.’

A WNBAPA statement read: ‘Where in this decision does this team or any other team across the League learn the lesson that respect in the workplace is the highest standard and a player’s dignity cannot be manipulated?

Hamby claimed that her former organization treated her in an ‘unprofessional and unethical way that … has been traumatizing’ due to her pregnancy

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert claimed the league was ‘disheartened’ by the violation

‘Incidents of misconduct by a team staff cannot always be compared but recent penalties imposed by the League, and an honest view of the facts, demonstrate that this penalty is far from appropriate.

‘While taking away a future draft pick is significant and had never been done in the League’s history, it penalizes a future player by removing an opportunity to compete for a job.’

The WNBA said that 33 people were interviewed in the investigation – though Hammon said that list did not include any Aces players from last season to her knowledge. 

The Aces also released a statement in support of Hammon, and said they were ‘deeply disappointed with the findings of the investigation.’