Los Angeles Sparks forward Dearica Hamby was tossed from the game against the Connecticut Sun after catching Raegan Beers with a hard elbow during a fourth-quarter sequence.
The incident unfolded early in the final period as Hamby and Beers fought for position under the basket while tracking a rebound.
Although one of Hamby’s Sparks teammates appeared to have a straightforward chance to secure the ball, the Los Angeles star swung her elbow through the play and struck Beers in the face.
Beers went down in visible pain, and officials reviewed the contact before ruling it a Flagrant 2 foul on Hamby. Under WNBA rules, that call carries an automatic ejection, and Hamby is also set to receive a $1,000 fine for the play.
After the game, Hamby defended herself by saying the elbow came in response to Beers making contact with her first.
When one user on X urged Hamby to set a better example for her daughter, she answered: ‘if somebody intentionally punch my kid in her ribs/stomach I hope she does more than that!!!!!!’
Sparks standout Dearica Hamby (L) was ejected after throwing an elbow at Raegan Beers
Hamby’s elbow struck the Connecticut Sun center in the face during a rebound battle
Beers hit the court in pain as Hamby was assessed a Flagrant 2 and had her night end early
Hamby then encouraged the user to find an alternate angle of the play in question.
Sure enough, the under-basket camera showed Beers striking Hamby in the stomach with an open palm – with the Sparks player then seen grabbing for her midsection in pain.
Beers then delivered an elbow in the back mere seconds before Hamby’s elbow let loose.
This marked Hamby’s first flagrant foul of the season and her first ejection.
If she commits two more Flagrant 1 fouls or one more Flagrant 2 foul, she will meet the requirements for a one-game suspension. If she commits a Flagrant 1 and then a Flagrant 2, she will be suspended for two games.
It’s the latest hard foul seen by a player in the league, however, this one may be less controversial than the last.
Earlier this month, the WNBA was swept up in controversy when Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington committed a hard foul on Indiana Fever rotation player Sophie Cunningham.
Carrington subsequently received backlash as many decried her foul as assault. Others believed it was a pre-meditated attack on Cunningham over her recent statements advocating against transgender participation in women’s sports.
Hamby (seen clutching her stomach in pain) says the elbow was retaliation for a hit from Beers
In response to online criticism over the foul, Carrington, who is Black, wrote ‘white privilege’ on X. Later, in another post, she denied writing that comment in response to the foul call but did not offer any further explanation.
Cunningham took issue with this, saying: ‘This has nothing to do with race. Last year, I did the same thing and I got kicked out. And I deserved to be kicked out. There’s no reason even to play that card.’
Cunningham’s Indiana Fever teammate, Caitlin Clark, has also received plenty of attention for being on the receiving end of some tough fouls.
The biggest controversy came earlier this season when she was hit in the throat by Phoenix Mercury veteran Alyssa Thomas as they both dove for a loose ball.
Thomas was retroactively suspended by the league, but received death threats and racial abuse from Clark’s online fanbase.
‘Our families are being threatened,’ Thomas, who is Black, told reporters Tuesday. ‘Kids are being threatened. People are sending racial slurs and all types of stuff.
‘There’s a difference between trolling and there’s a difference between hatred,’ she continued. ‘The hatred that we’re experiencing over a play that was, honestly, a complete accident, no one even knew what happened, it’s just unfortunate.’
Clark, meanwhile, publicly disavowed the hate directed at Thomas: ‘As I’ve stood up here and said before, like the harassment, the hate, none of that is okay. That goes for the opposing team we play, that goes for my teammates, that goes for my coaches, there should never be a question of character,’ Clark told reporters.
Earlier this year, Mercury star Alyssa Thomas was suspended after hitting Caitlin Clark in the throat as the two players dove for a loose ball – leading to racial abuse aimed at Thomas
Days after that incident, Chelsea Gray (12) was abused for a non-foul on Clark in the post
Days later, Clark was on the receiving end of more contact from Las Vegas star Chelsea Gray.
Gray was posted up against Clark in the paint when she pivoted and slammed her elbow into the Fever guard’s midsection, causing her to dramatically double over.
Officials reviewed the play for a hostile act, didn’t find reason to escalate the call, and upheld their call of a foul on Clark for flopping.
Like Thomas, Gray was subject to racial abuse from Clark’s fans as she shared some of many DMs she received.
‘People act like we just make this s*** up,’ Gray wrote in her caption. ‘And the audacity to tell us as athletes to “shut up and dribble.”‘
