A man has been fired by his employer after allegedly sending a racist message to WNBA player Dearica Hamby on social media, a report says.
Rhode Island-based medical device company Acclaro Medical told the media that an employee was let go after an L.A. Sparks player posted a screenshot of a personal message sent to her on X, according to the New York Post.
Hamby posted a screenshot of the message and asked fans, “Anyone know this number?”
The message Hamby posted read, “Dirty ass n*gger. They should put you in a zoo. Animal. And then the sender added a monkey emoji.
Social media sleuths soon tracked down the number and reported who it belonged to.
Hamby racked up more than 9.5 million views on her X post by Thursday morning.
The company initially put the employee on suspension as officials looked into the incident. Acclaro Medical also put out a statement saying the company “condemns racism, harassment, hate speech and discriminating behavior in all forms.”
The WNBA added a statement of its own insisting that the league “stands unequivocally with Dearica Hamby and condemns the racist abuse directed at her in the strongest possible terms. We are committed to holding anyone who engages in such abhorrent behavior accountable, and this individual will be permanently banned from all league games and events.”
The message came a few days after the three-time All-Star player was ejected from a game after delivering an elbow to the face of Connecticut Sun rookie Raegan Beers.
Hamby was ejected after being handed a flagrant 2 upon review, which carries an automatic ejection.
Beers did not return to the August 22 game after sustaining a jaw injury during the play.
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