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By Cassandra Cousineau/LVSportsBiz.com Aces/WNBA Writer
The WNBA is investigating the Las Vegas Aces for potential salary cap violations.
Although a specific player was not been mentioned, the defending WNBA champion did recently sign two-time MVP Candace Parker and former All-Defensive team forward Alysha Clark.
According to a report from Howard Megdal, of women’s basketball website The Next, a “high-level member” of the Aces’ franchise would instruct either the player or the player’s agent that they would receive another call after initial contract negotiations. Megdal’s report asserted the call was said to include an offer for a specific amount of money from a pre-selected company in return for “negligible” work. The WNBA has confirmed it is investigating whether the Aces, owned by NFL Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis, made those moves using under-the-table payments.
Clark was signed to a two-year $220,000 deal. Meanwhile, Parker agreed to a $100,000 contract, which was $95,000 less than she reportedly received with the Chicago Sky last season.
Kiah Stokes was also re-signed to a one-year, $81,000 deal through 2023, less than the $115,000 she was on the books for last season.
The Aces are also dealing with former Aces’ player Dearica Hamby’s explosive charges that the team bullied her for being pregnant after she was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks Jan. 21. Hamby wrote on Instagram, “Being traded is a part of the business. Being lied to, bullied, manipulated, and discriminated against is not.”
Hamby, an All-Star player who came to Las Vegas with the franchise when it moved from San Antonio to Las Vegas in 2018, signed a two-year extension with the Aces in June.
The WNBA is also investigating Hamby’s harsh allegations.
Late Wednesday, Las Vegas issued the following statement via social media.
Other than this short Twitter post, the Aces’ team management has been close-mouthed in response to Hamby’s charges.
The WNBA Players Association also is conducting an investigation into Hamby’s allegations.
On Tuesday, Aces team president Nikki Fargas opened a press conference to formally introduce Parker to Las Vegas media with a statement that seemed to be a veiled attempt to address Hamby.
“Here at the Las Vegas Aces, we do make sure and we will always continue to make sure that our players and their families will always be in the forefront of who we are as a franchise,” Fargas said. “We’re going to always be supportive of our players in that regard, and we will always demonstrate that we will act accordingly when you are discussing any situation surrounding the well-being of our athletes.”
When Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Andy Yamashita attempted to ask Fargas about Hamby’s allegations, he was interrupted by Aces’ Director of Media Relations John Maxwell and told that Fargas needed to depart because of a previously scheduled meeting.
No questions were asked during the Fargas presser about the salary cap issue because the cap topic news broke the day after the press conference.
The WNBA’s salary cap for the 2023 season stands at $1,420,500. Language in the WNBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) states a team or team affiliate is disallowed from entering an “agreement or understanding with any sponsor or business partner or third party under which [the company] pays or agrees to pay compensation for basketball services (even if such compensation is ostensibly designated as being for non-basketball services)” to a player under contract.
The investigations are the latest issues facing Davis,, who revamped the Raiders front office after workers left amid hostile work environment and discrimination charges.
The Raiders cleaned house after former team president Marc Badain resigned after 30 years with the organization in various roles.
If the Aces are found guilty, punishment from the WNBA could implicate players as well as owners, and include either voided contracts, roster spots, or monetary penalties.