Aces head coach Becky Hammon is adamant that her two-game suspension for violating league and team Respect in the Workplace policies is unfounded.

The WNBA handed the 2022 Coach of the Year a two-game suspension without pay on Tuesday in relation to Las Vegas’ trade of Dearica Hamby back in January. The league’s investigation also found the Aces had made promises of “impermissible benefits” when negotiating a two-year contract extension with Hamby last June and stripped the organization of its 2025 first-round draft pick.

Hamby was pregnant at the time of her trade to the Los Angeles Sparks and said in an Instagram post that the Aces organization “bullied, manipulated, lied to and discriminated against” her due to her pregnancy.

“I was told that I was ‘a question mark’ and that it was said that I said I would ‘get pregnant again’ and there was a concern for my level of commitment to the team,” Hamby wrote. “I was told that ‘I didn’t hold up my end of the bargain’ (because ‘no one expected me to get pregnant in the next two years’).”

Hammon says those claims are false.

“I handled Dearica with care from day one when she told me (about the pregnancy), and she knows that,” Hammon said in a press conference on Wednesday.

Hamby never specified who within the Aces organization made the discriminatory statements, though she did say in interviews following the initiation of an investigation that it was an individual and not a group of people.

The league investigation revealed that the individual was Hammon.

“The Respect in the Workplace violation was related to comments made by Hammon to Hamby in connection with Hamby’s recent pregnancy,” the WNBA statement reads.

The WNBA added that the investigation included interviews of 33 players and the review of texts, emails and other documents. Hammon denied texting or emailing Hamby anything negative regarding her pregnancy.

“Those are completely false,” Hammon said of the allegations. “I never had one bad text between me and Dearica Hamby. Completely false. 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 from any person in this organization. That’s not how we do business. That’s not who we are.”

Hammon also said that she and Hamby had a “great relationship” and that the trade was “nothing personal.”

In her statement at the time of the trade, Hamby acknowledged that “being traded is part of the business” and specified that she did not take issue with the trade itself but rather the way she was treated throughout the process.

According to Hammon, the trade came down to “math and business.” Dealing Hamby to L.A. created enough cap space at the time for the reigning champion Aces to sign Candace Parker in free agency and form what many have dubbed a superteam.

Hammon went on to say that no one on the current Aces roster was interviewed in the investigation.

“I know that because none of the girls told me they were interviewed or asked to be interviewed,” she said, without acknowledging whether it was possible that players were interviewed and elected not to tell their coach.

In response to the league’s decision on Tuesday, the WNBA Players Association said that the punishment does not do enough to uphold the 2020 collective bargaining agreement (CBA).

“The League had an opportunity to send a clear message that it abides by and protects the provisions of the CBA, particularly those that we were most proud of — the provisions meant to support player parents,” the statement reads. “Today’s decision regarding penalties, however, misses the mark.”

The Aces organization pledged its support to Hammon in response to the penalties.

“The WNBA’s determinations about Becky Hammon are inconsistent with what we know and love about her,” the team said in a statement Tuesday. “Becky is a caring human being who forges close personal relationships with her players. We stand behind Coach Hammon as she continues to lead the Las Vegas Aces.”

The Aces open the 2023 regular season against the Seattle Storm on Saturday. Hammon will return to the sidelines for Las Vegas’ third game at home against Hamby and the Sparks on Saturday, May 27.

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

One of the newest WNBA teams stepped out this week, as the Toronto Tempo unveiled their debut jerseys Tuesday ahead of their inaugural 2026 season.

"Today marks another meaningful milestone on our journey to bringing Canada's first WNBA team to life," Toronto CMO Whitney Bell said in Tuesday's release. "Every detail of these uniforms is intentional."

The designs feature the team's signature Borealis Blue and Tempo Bordeaux colors, with six speed lines down the sides mirroring the Tempo's logo.

"We've created a design that brings our brand to life and represents our city, our fans, and our team," said Bell. "We cannot wait for our players — and our fans — to wear them with pride."

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While the WNBA expects that Toronto will hit the court next season alongside fellow incoming franchise the Portland Fire, stagnant CBA negotiations have delayed both expansion drafts.

In the meantime, the teams are moving forward with staff hirings and the development of on- and off-court identities as they wait to build out their rosters.

How to purchase the inaugural Toronto Tempo jerseys

While there is no release date yet for the team's "Heroine" jersey, the Toronto Tempo's "Explorer" jersey will be available for purchase beginning in January.

Fans looking to snag a jersey can sign up to receive the latest drop dates at TorontoTempo.com.

Tennis star Aryna Sabalenka has done it again, with the world No. 1 taking home the WTA Player of the Year award for a second straight season on Monday — becoming just the seventh woman to earn the honor back-to-back.

Sabalenka won Player of the Year in dominant fashion, garnering nearly 80% of the media vote after leading the 2025 WTA Tour in wins, titles, and finals appearances — all while racking up a record $15 million in prize money.

The 27-year-old spent the entire year as the sport's No. 1 player, all while reaching three of the four Grand Slam finals en route to winning the 2025 US Open.

After an elite season, US rising star Amanda Anisimova won the WTA Most Improved Player honor for reaching a career-first two Grand Slam finals while jumping from No. 34 to No. 4 in the rankings.

Following her own breakout 2025 campaign, 19-year-old Canadian talent No. 18 Vicky Mboko took home Newcomer of the Year, with Swiss No. 11 Belinda Bencic earning Comeback Player of the Year after returning from pregnancy in stellar form.

The world's top duo of Czechia's Katerina Siniakova and US standout Taylor Townsend also capped their 2025 season with hardware, earning the sport's Doubles Team of the Year.

The UWCL's first-ever league phase wraps on Wednesday, when all 18 2025/26 Champions League clubs will square off in a simultaneous afternoon kick-off finale.

Top finishers No. 1 Barcelona and No. 2 OL Lyonnes already secured automatic spots in the quarterfinals, with similarly unbeaten No. 3 Chelsea looking to claim their spot with a result on Wednesday.

The fourth guaranteed pathway will be tougher fight, however, as just three points separate No. 4 Juventus and No. 11 Atletico Madrid on the Champions League table.

While the top four teams will advance directly into the March quarterfinals, clubs finishing fifth through 12th will instead move on to the European competition's first-ever knockout playoffs in February to determine the final quartet of quarterfinalists.

No. 4 Bayern Munich, No. 5 Real Madrid, No. 6 Juventus, No. 7 Wolfsburg, No. 8 Arsenal, No. 9 Manchester United, and No. 10 Paris FC have all netted enough points to at least make the playoffs, leave three teams — Atlético de Madrid, No. 12 Oud-Heverlee Leuven, and No. 13 Vålerenga — battling the final two spots.

Amid Wednesday's high-stakes matchups, Wolfsburg will look to break into the upper ranks against Chelsea, Juventus will try to hold off Manchester United, and 2024/25 champs Arsenal will shoot for a result against Oud-Heverlee Leuven.

How to watch Wednesday's 2025/26 Champions League action

Wednesday's final UWCL league-phase matches will be cutthroat battles for tournament seeding.

The action kicks off at 3 PM ET, with live coverage on Paramount+.

The stars of last summer's Euro ruled the 2025 FIFA Best Awards on Tuesday, as international players for world No. 1 Spain and No. 4 England shut out the competition at the annual ceremony in Qatar.

Spain and Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmatí won her third straight Best Women's Player of the Year award, after finishing as a runner up at both the 2024/25 UEFA Women's Champions League and this year's Euros.

"I'm grateful to have the award, it's for all the players all the coaches and the fans, thanks very much," Bonmatí told the crowd, as the reigning three-time Ballon d'Or winner continues to recover from a broken leg.

The 2025 Euro tournament also influenced the 2025 FIFA Women's Best XI, with the lineup exclusively featuring Spain and England standouts.

Joining Bonmatí on the FIFA roster were Spain teammates Irene Paredes, Ona Batlle, Patri Guijarro, Clàudia Pina, Mariona Caldentey, and Alexia Putellas, with Euro champion Lionesses Lucy Bronze, Leah Williamson, Alessia Russo, and Hannah Hampton rounding out the field.

Hampton also picked up Goalkeeper of the Year honors, with England boss Sarina Wiegman snagging the 2025 Coach of the Year award.

Months after a controversial 2025 Ballon d'Or ballot, FIFA took a similarly narrow Euro-centric view of success at the individual level for this year's Best Awards.