A racist text message shared publicly by Los Angeles Sparks star Dearica Hamby has led to the termination of the employee who allegedly sent it, according to USA Today.
The individual worked for medical equipment supplier Acclaro Medical.
Company takes action after investigation
The company initially confirmed on Aug. 25 that the employee had been "suspended while an investigation is being conducted." Acclaro Medical later dismissed the worker after investigating the incident.
In a statement posted on social media, the company said "it condemns racism, harassment, hate speech and discriminating behavior in all forms" and stressed that the employee's online comments "do not in any way reflect the values and standards of the Company."
Hamby shared racist text message
The controversy began on the morning of Aug. 24, when the 32-year-old Sparks star posted a screenshot of a text she said came from an unknown number.
The message targeted the WNBA forward with a racial slur and compared her to an animal. Hamby also included the sender's phone number in the screenshot while asking her nearly 50,000 followers on X: "Anyone know this number?"
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{{/usCountry}}The text, which referred to Hamby as a “dirty a** [slur],” was sent at 6:25 a.m. It continued: “They should put you in a zoo. Animal,” and was accompanied by a monkey emoji.
Social media users soon began tracing the phone number, with some reportedly using reverse searches to identify the sender before notifying Acclaro Medical about the incident. It is still unknown how the sender obtained Hamby's personal phone number.
Racist abuse continues targeting WNBA stars
Hamby is the latest WNBA player to publicly address racist abuse or threats as players continue to face harassment away from the court.
Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray faced a similar situation in July after exposing racist direct messages she had received. The incident also resulted in the sender losing their job.
The league has faced further scrutiny over online abuse following several high-profile incidents involving its players.
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